We present molecular dynamics simulations using both empirical potentials (EP) and density functional theory (DFT) on ion irradiation of graphene. The comparison between the two methods shows that EP gives not only qualitatively but also quantitatively reasonable estimates of defect production during ion irradiation in carbon nanosystems. Ion irradiation is shown to give rise to a range of interesting defects e.g. single, double and triple vacancies, bond rotations, close-by Frenkel pairs and more complex defect structures. We show that the creation of these defects is related to the atomic processes upon the ion impact, and define the critical irradiation angles both for maximum damage and no penetration as a function of the ion mass.

Since the discovery of stable graphene sheets by Novoselov und Geim in 2004 the one atom thick carbon material has been attracted great interest because of its outstanding physical, mechanical and chemical properties. Although there had been intensive research to find new ways in the preparation of single-layer graphene sheets in the last few years, especially the large-scale production of graphene still remains challenging. In this paper we present a new approach, which allows the high-yield production of graphene sheets in a simple stirred media milling process. Under mild milling conditions single- and multilayer graphene sheets have been successfully produced from commercial graphite powder in a liquid medium. During the delamination procedure, the graphite particles were stressed between the milling beads. Shear and compressive normal forces can lead under mild milling conditions, i.e. low stress energies, to a continuous mechanical peeling of graphene sheets from the graphite surface. By means of Atomic Force Microscopy a high yield of single- and multilayer graphene sheets was detected. A concentration of exfoliated sheets of 2 wt% starting from a 5 wt% suspension of coarse graphite particles could be determined after a milling time of only 3 h. This concentration is much higher than those, which were reached by most of the known chemical methods. Since stirred media milling can be realized as large-scale process, a high-yield and low-cost production of graphene flakes becomes possible at ambient temperature.

For graphene FETs, asymmetry in the drain current transfer characteristics has been observed. It has been proposed that asymmetry is due to additional resistances from p-n transition regions along the channel [1,2]. Calculations of the additional resistance have been received attention for small p-n transition lengths [3,4]. In this paper, we analyze the resistance of graphene FETs with p-n junctions when transition lengths are long compared with energy and momentum relaxation lengths, as is found in many experimental FETs. We employ a two dimensional device simulator to determine the electric field and channel conductivity variations in the vicinity of the FET gate, assuming rapid electron/hole equilibration. The simulations show added resistances in the range of 50-500 Ω μm p-n junction. We also extract the additional p-n resistance ΔR from experimental results by plots of Vd/Id vs. 1/|Vg-Vt|. Values of ΔR of order 450 Ω μm were extracted from FET results reported in [2]. Epitaxial graphene FETs fabricated on a SiC substrate [5] gives additional resistance of 620 Ωum. Both results are in reasonable agreement with the simulations.

The physically-based device simulator Atlas of Silvaco with parameters modified for graphene was used to obtain carrier distributions. A graphene FET on SiO2 substrate with a global back gate and 0.3μm gate/drain and gate/source gaps was studied. The carrier density in the gap region was controlled by back gate bias (Vbg) while the channel region under the top gate was modulated by top and back gate simultaneously. A long channel device at Vds=10mV was used to minimize the lateral electric field effect.

From the simulated carrier distribution, we can obtain the resistivity along the channel by ρ=1/[qμ(n+p)]. Mobility is assumed to be equal for electrons and holes, and depends on carrier concentration Ns, μ=μ0 (N0/Ns)1/2 where N0 and μ0 are intrinsic carrier concentration and peak mobility, respectively. Under positive Vbg, the graphene layer becomes n-type in the gap region and channel region. Proper top gate bias (Vg) may be applied to make channel region intrinsic, p-type or n-type. Therefore, various configurations along the channel such as npn or nnn structures may be created. In the p-n transition region, the total number of carriers reduces to N0 and resistivity shows a peak. The additional resistance of a p-n junction can be calculated by integrating the difference of the resistivity vs. channel position for the nnn and npn structures. The integrated resistance value is impacted by the peak height and peak width. The peak height is controlled by Vg-Vt; the resistivity reaches a maximum at the threshold condition, where the electron and hole densities reach their intrinsic levels. The peak width is also controlled by Vg, via fringing field of the gate.

In this work, we establish the use of lithography technique by laser direct writing for fabricating bilayer graphene devices. This technique, which is based on direct laser writing on graphene coated with a photoresist is simple to implement, versatile, and capable of achieving good throughput. Double-layer graphene flakes were obtained by micromechanical cleavage of graphite producing large graphene samples up to 40μm in size. The presence of a bilayer of graphene on SiO2/Si substrate was verified by optical microscopy and resonant Raman spectroscopy. We have measured the four-terminal resistance as a function on the back-gate voltage and found initially p-type doping in graphene, but annealing inside cryostat at 127C° in He atmosphere, the samples become n-type. Our measurements show electron mobility reached values around ˜1,900 cm2/V.s at high electron concentration.

Few-layer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets were produced by using super-short-pulse laser produced plasma deposition techniques. Scanning electron microscopy, Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and micro-Raman spectroscopy were used to explore the morphologies, elemental concentrations and bond structures of the few-layer h-BN nanosheets. High-quality transparent few-layer h-BN nanosheet with the width up to more than 6 μm, and length more than 20 μm were successfully obtained. The change in contrast suggests that the number of atomic layers varies over the area. A comparative study between the obtained few-layer h-BN nanosheets and the previously synthesized few-layer graphene were also conducted in order to further investigate the properties of the promising 2-Dimention (2D) nanomaterials. Our results suggest that the development h-BN nanosheets has the potential to revolutionize the understanding of 2-D nanomaterials with delocalized electronsheralding a transformative technology with dramatic future implications.

Graphene is generating a considerable interest in materials science and condensed-matter physics. One crucial technological problem, that will govern future applicability of this material, is related to the patterning of graphene while preserving the exceptionally high crystallinity and electronic properties of this material. This article is aiming at demonstrating that a highly focused beam of gallium ions can be applied for sculpting ultra-thin and high quality suspended graphene nano-ribbons (GNRs).

Epitaxial graphene (EG) grown on the carbon-face of SiC has been shown to exhibit higher carrier mobilities in comparison to other growth techniques amenable to wafer-scale graphene fabrication. The transfer of large area (>mm2) graphene films to substrates amenable for specific applications is desirable. We demonstrate the dry transfer of EG from the C-face of 4H-SiC onto SiO2, GaN and Al2O3 substrates via two approaches using either 1) thermal release tape or 2) a spin-on, chemically-etchable dielectric. Van der Pauw devices fabricated from C-face EG transferred to SiO2 gave similar mobility values and up to three fold reductions in carrier density in comparison to devices fabricated on as-grown material.

Metal-graphene contact is of critical significance in graphene-based nanoelectronics. There are two possible metal-graphene contact geometries: side-contact and end-contact. In this paper, we apply first-principles calculations to study metal-graphene end-contact for these three commonly used electrode metals (Ni, Pd and Ti) and find that they have distinctive stable end-contact geometries with graphene. Transport properties of these metal-graphene-metal (M-G-M) end-contact structures are investigated by density functional theory non-equilibrium Green’s function (DFT-NEGF) algorithm. The Transmission as a function of chemical potential (E-EF) shows asymmetric curves relative to the Fermi level. Transmission curves of Ni-G-Ni and Ti-G-Ti contact structures indicate that bulk graphene sheet is n-doped by Ni and Ti electrodes, but that of Pd-G-Pd shows p-doping of graphene by Pd electrode. The contact behaviors of these electrodes are consistent with experimental observations.

Halogen based (CF4 and Cl2) inductively coupled reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) has been used to selectively etch silicon from 6H-SiC to produce a controlled number of carbon layers. After annealing at temperatures in the range of 550 °C to 1100 °C to reconstruct the near surface layers, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to characterize the composition of the films. For the Cl2 based ICP-RIE, two carbon species are observed. One is due to carbon bound as SiC in the substrate and a second which can be attributed to graphene. In the case of CF4 based etching the situation is similar except the second peak is most closely aligned with p-type graphene. This is most likely due to electron transfer from the graphene to the trace levels of fluorine remaining on the surface after annealing.