Large positive in-plane magnetoresistance induced by localized states at nanodomain boundaries in graphene

Graphene supports long spin lifetimes and long diffusion lengths at room temperature, making it highly promising for spintronics. However, making graphene magnetic remains a principal challenge despite the many proposed solutions. Among these, graphene with zig-zag edges and ripples are the most promising candidates, as zig-zag edges are predicted to host spin-polarized electronic states, and spin-orbit coupling can be induced by ripples. Here we investigate the magnetoresistance of graphene grown on technologically relevant SiC/Si(001) wafers, where inherent nanodomain boundaries sandwich zig-zag structures between adjacent ripples of large curvature. Localized states at the nanodomain boundaries result in an unprecedented positive in-plane magnetoresistance with a strong temperature dependence. Our work may offer a tantalizing way to add the spin degree of freedom to graphene

Transport Gap Opening and High On Off Current Ratio in Trilayer Graphene with Self Aligned Nanodomain Boundaries

Trilayer graphene exhibits exceptional electronic properties that are of interest both for fundamental science and for technological applications. The ability to achieve a high on off current ratio is the central question in this field. Here, we propose a simple method to achieve a current on off ratio of 104 by opening a transport gap in Bernal stacked trilayer graphene. We synthesized Bernal stacked trilayer graphene with self aligned periodic nanodomain boundaries NBs on the technologically relevant vicinal cubic SiC 001 substrate and performed electrical measurements. Our low temperature transport measurements clearly demonstrate that the self aligned periodic NBs can induce a charge transport gap greater than 1.3 eV. More remarkably, the transport gap of amp; 8764;0.4 eV persists even at 100 K. Our results show the feasibility of creating new electronic nanostructures with high on off current ratios using graphene on cubic Si