Large-Scale Assembly of Aligned Graphene Nanoribbons with Sub 30-nm Width

Abstract

We report a simple yet efficient method to assemble large-scale aligned graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with a width as small as 30 nm. The V2O5 nanowires (NWs) were aligned on a graphene surface via spraying a solution of the V2O5 NWs, and the graphene was selectively etched by the reactive ion etching method using the V2O5 NWs as a shadow mask. This process allowed us to prepare large scale patterns of the aligned GNRs on a SiO2 substrate. The orientation of the aligned and randomly oriented GNRs was compared by the atomic force microscope (AFM) images. We achieved the highly aligned GNRs along the flow direction of the V2O5 NWs solution. Furthermore, we successfully fabricated a field effect-transistor with the aligned GNRs and measured its electrical properties. Since our method enable to prepare the aligned GNRs over a large area, it should open up new way for the various applications.