Abstract
We report the experimental evidence for the formation of multi-quantum dots in a hydrogenated single-layer graphene flake. The existence of multi-quantum dots is supported by the low-temperature measurements on a field effect transistor structure device. The resulting Coulomb blockade diamonds shown in the color scale plot together with the number of Coulomb peaks exhibit the characteristics of the so-called ‘stochastic Coulomb blockade’. A possible explanation for the formation of the multi-quantum dots, which is not observed in pristine graphene to date, was attributed to the impurities and defects unintentionally decorated on a single-layer graphene flake which was not treated with the thermal annealing process. Graphene multi-quantum dots developed around impurities and defect sites during the hydrogen plasma exposure process.
Highlights
Graphene, a mono-layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice, has extraordinary electrical properties, such as the gapless linear dispersion [1,2,3,4]
We propose a possible explanation based on the aforementioned mechanism for the formation of multi-quantum dots on our single-layer graphene flake and supported by the low-temperature electrical transport measurements
To assure the Coulomb peaks in the Coulomb blockade oscillation region, we examined the Coulomb peaks with a fixed VSD = 1 mV at T = 1.32 K shown in the inset to Figure 1b [29]
Summary
A mono-layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice, has extraordinary electrical properties, such as the gapless linear dispersion [1,2,3,4]. In order to realize graphene-based nanoelectronic device applications, many research groups tried to open the energy bandgap in the gapless linear dispersion in different ways, for instance, graphene nanoribbons [5,6] and bilayer graphene applied by the electric field [7,8,9]. The adsorbed atomic hydrogen atoms form three-dimensional C-H sp covalent bonds with carbon atoms by interrupting C-C sp bonds, removing the conducting π bonds and opening a bandgap [11,18,19]. According to the surface dynamics, thermally energetic hydrogen atoms adsorbed on graphene could be desorbed from the graphene surface or migrate
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