Lateral Graphene Research Articles

Quantum Graphene Asymmetric Devices for Harvesting Electromagnetic Energy.

We present here the fabrication at the wafer level and the electrical performance of two types of graphene diodes: ballistic trapezoidal-shaped graphene diodes and lateral tunneling graphene diodes. In the case of the ballistic trapezoidal-shaped graphene diode, we observe a large DC current of 200 µA at a DC bias voltage of ±2 V and a large voltage responsivity of 2000 v/w, while in the case of the lateral tunneling graphene diodes, we obtain a DC current of 1.5 mA at a DC bias voltage of ±2 V, with a voltage responsivity of 3000 v/w. An extended analysis of the defects produced during the fabrication process and their influences on the graphene diode performance is also presented.

High-quality lateral monolayer-multilayer graphene junction formed by selective laser thinning for self-powered photodetection

The formation of an asymmetric junction is key to graphene-based photodetectors of high-sensitive photodetectability, because such a junction can not only facilitate the diffusion or drift of photogenerated carriers but also realize a self-powered operation. Here, a monolayer-multilayer graphene junction photodetector is accomplished by selectively thinning part of a multilayer graphene to a high-quality monolayer. Benefiting from the large photoabsorption cross section of multilayer graphene and strong asymmetry caused by the significant differences in optoelectronic properties between monolayer and multilayer graphene, the monolayer-multilayer graphene junction shows a 7-fold increase in short-circuit photocurrent as compared with that at the monolayer graphene-metal contact in scanning photocurrent images. The asymmetric configuration also enables the photodetector to work at zero bias with minimized dark current noise and stand-by power consumption. Under global illumination with visible light, a photoswitching ratio of 3.4 × 103, a responsivity of 8.8 mA W−1, a specific detectivity of 1.3 × 108 Jones and a response time of 11 ns can be obtained, suggesting a promising photoresponse. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that such a performance enhancement is achieved without compromising the broadband spectral response of graphene photodetector and it is hence applicable for long wavelength spectral range including infrared and terahertz.

Lateral ionic-gated graphene synaptic transistor with transition from paired-pulse facilitation to depression for filtering and image recognition

The transition from paired-pulse facilitation to paired-pulse depression is of significant importance for regulating biologic neural network. Here, we fabricate and investigate a lateral ionic-gated graphene synaptic transistor (GST) with short gate length. We control the channel current via e-field-dependent movement and diffusion of ions for realizing the transition from paired-pulse facilitation to depression. This phenomenon comes from the over-diffusion and trapping of a finite number of ions and the short ion-diffusion length under large negative gate pulse stimuli. This device successfully emulates facilitation and depression synaptic functions, for leveraging the accumulation, migration and diffusion of ions. Moreover, enhanced high-pass filtering and conversion from long-term depression to long-term potentiation are achieved by changing pulses time interval. Our results indicate that our device possesses excellent frequency-dependent synaptic plasticity, making it highly suitable for information filtering up to 33 Hz in neuromorphic systems, and image edge enhancement for neural image processing. In additional, a simulated artificial neural network built on lateral ionic-gated GSTs for handwritten digit recognition can achieve a learning accuracy of 82.4 %.

Transit‐Time Instability Mechanism in Lateral Graphene n+‐i‐n‐i‐n+ Structure with Transverse Terahertz Pasmonic Resonant Cavity

The terahertz (THz) plasmonic instability in the lateral graphene structure (LGS) with the n+‐i‐n‐i‐n+ junction in its graphene channel (GC) is analyzed. The i‐regions in the LGS n+‐i‐n‐i‐n+ GC plays the role of the transit spaces of the electrons emitted from the n+‐regions (the emitters) and collected by the gated n‐region (collector) and the side contact to the latter. The interband Zener–Klein tunneling (ZKT) in the i‐regions also contributes to the currents received by the n‐region. Simultaneously, the n‐region constitutes the transverse resonant plasmonic cavity, in which the plasmons with the wave vector directed perpendicular to the electron propagation direction are excited. The plasmonic instability in the LGSs is associated with the transit‐time negative dynamic conductance of the i‐regions supported by the plasmonic resonances in the n‐region. The self‐excitation of plasmonic oscillations associated with the instability in the LGS with sub‐micrometer i‐regions and supplied with a proper antenna can lead to the emission of THz radiation. The LGS can form periodic arrays, which can serve as an active distributed antenna.

Combining tensile test results with atomistic predictions of elastic modulus of graphene/polyamide-6,6 nanocomposites

In this work, we combined tensile test results with atomistic simulations to investigate the effect of filler parameters including distribution, stacking, loading and lateral graphene size on elastic moduli of graphene/PA-6,6 nanocomposites. Stacked and randomly distributed atomistic models were adapted in Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to establish the limits of stiffness enhancement in graphene reinforced PA-6,6 nanocomposites with loading ratios changing from 0 to 1 wt%. Experimental results showed that incorporating of 0.3–0.4 wt% graphene loading improved the elastic modulus of the neat polymer by 41.7%−43.5%. While the test sample behaved close to the computational results of the stacked atomistic model at low graphene loadings up to 0.4 wt%, it overshot the predictions of the randomly distributed model at all considered loadings up to 1 wt%. Elastic moduli of graphene-based PA-6,6 nanocomposites increased linearly with graphene loading in the stacked model, however, no such relation was detected in the randomly distributed model. The lower stiffness enhancement provided by the randomly distributed model compared to the stacked model was revealed as the small lateral size of graphene plates in PA-6,6 matrix. As the graphene size increased, the elastic modulus of the graphene dramatically increased, directly improving the elastic modulus of the nanocomposite. The developed computational approach is highly useful to estimate the boundaries of stiffness enhancement provided by graphene dispersions in macroscale nanocomposite samples.

Bottom‐Up Growth of Graphene Nanospears and Nanoribbons

One dimensional graphene nanostructures are one of the most promising materials for next generation electronics. Here, the chemical vapor depostion growth of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) and graphene nanospears (GNSs) on a copper surface is reported. The growth of GNRs and GNSs is enabled by a vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism guided by on-surface propagation of a liquid Cu-Si catalyst particle. The slow lateral growth and the fast VLS vertical growth give rise to spear head-shaped GNSs. In situ observations further confirm that the lateral graphene growth can be completely suppressed and thus GNRs are grown. The synthesized field effect transistor (FET) devices show that the GNRs and GNSs have high carrier mobilities of ≈2000 cm2 V−1 s−1. Both FET and Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements confirm that the Fermi levels of the synthesize GNSs shift downward from the wide part to the tip is strongly p-doped. These findings yield key insights into the growth mechanism of graphene and open a door for achieving a facile and scalable method of synthesizing free standing GNRs and GNSs and their applications, such as the Fermi-level tunable devices.

π -magnetism and spin-dependent transport in boron pair doped armchair graphene nanoribbons

Carbon-based magnetic nanostructures have long spin coherent length and are promising for spintronics applications in data storage and information processing. Recent experiments demonstrate that a pair of substitutional boron atoms (B2) doped 7-atom-wide armchair graphene nanoribbons (B2-7AGNRs) have intrinsic magnetism, providing a quasi-1D magnetic material platform for spintronics. In this work, we demonstrate that the magnetism in B2-7AGNRs is contributed by π-electrons, originating from the imbalance of electrons in two spin channels in response to boron dopants. The spin-dependent transport across single and double boron pair doped 7AGNRs (B2-7AGNRs and 2B2-7AGNRs) by constructing lateral graphene nanoribbon heterojunctions has been investigated by using first-principles calculations. We show that for B2-7AGNRs with spin splitting π-electronic states near the Fermi level, by applying a bias voltage, one can obtain a current spin polarization over 90% and a negative differential resistance effect. For 2B2-7AGNRs, two spin centers have been found to be antiferromagnetically coupled. We demonstrate a magnetoresistance effect over 15 000% by setting those two spin centers to be ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic alignments. Based on the above spin-polarized transport properties, we reveal that GNR heterojunctions based on B2-7AGNRs could be potentially applied in quasi-1D spintronic devices.

Patterning Configuration of Surface Hydrophilicity by Graphene Nanosheet towards the Inhibition of Ice Nucleation and Growth

Freezing of liquid water occurs in many natural phenomena and affects countless human activities. The freezing process mainly involves ice nucleation and continuous growth, which are determined by the energy and structure fluctuation in supercooled water. Herein, considering the surface hydrophilicity and crystal structure differences between metal and graphene, we proposed a kind of surface configuration design, which was realized by graphene nanosheets being alternately anchored on a metal substrate. Ice nucleation and growth were investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The surface configuration could induce ice nucleation to occur preferentially on the metal substrate where the surface hydrophilicity was higher than the lateral graphene nanosheet. However, ice nucleation could be delayed to a certain extent under the hindering effect of the interfacial water layer formed by the high surface hydrophilicity of the metal substrate. Furthermore, the graphene nanosheets restricted lateral expansion of the ice nucleus at the clearance, leading to the formation of a curved surface of the ice nucleus as it grew. As a result, ice growth was suppressed effectively due to the Gibbs–Thomson effect, and the growth rate decreased by 71.08% compared to the pure metal surface. Meanwhile, boundary misorientation between ice crystals was an important issue, which also prejudiced the growth of the ice crystal. The present results reveal the microscopic details of ice nucleation and growth inhibition of the special surface configuration and provide guidelines for the rational design of an anti-icing surface.

Improving the tribological performance of a biodegradable lubricant adding graphene nanoplatelets as additives

This research is based on the investigation of the tribological properties of a biodegradable polymeric ester lubricant (BIOE) additivated with two different pristine graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs), named as GnP7 and GnP40. These GnPs have lateral sizes of 7 and 40 μm, and thickness of 3 and 10 nm, respectively. Four different nanoadditive loadings: 0.015, 0.035, 0.055 and 0.075 wt% have been used. Stability of nanolubricants has been investigated using the visual control and the refractive index evolution during time, revealing a slightly better stability for the nanolubricants formulated with the largest lateral size graphene nanoplatelets (GnP40). The influence of the thickness and lateral size of these carbon-based nanoadditives on the antifriction and antiwear capabilities of BIOE is analysed. For this purpose, rotational friction tests were taken with the eight nanolubricants under a 20 N working load and 340 m sliding distance. All nanolubricants showed friction coefficients and worn area lower than those previously reported for the unadditivated BIOE. As regards friction, the ideal loading for both GnPs was 0.055 wt% GnP, being the best anti-friction behaviour obtained using GnP40 as additive (up to 26% reduction), whereas the 0.055 wt% GnP7/BIOE nanolubricant leads to the best anti-wear capability with wear reductions up to 56%. Finally, from Raman microscopy and roughness assessments on the worn surfaces, it can be determined that the good tribological performance of nanolubricants is owing to the protective film formation and surface repairing mechanism.

Tuning the spintronic properties of graphene with atomically precise Au clusters

Spin relaxation is investigated in lateral nonlocal graphene spin valves with increasing densities of soft-landed Au3 and Au6 clusters. It is found that both gold clusters scatter spins via the Elliot–Yafet mechanism. The induced spin–orbit coupling strength is a few meV for both clusters, with the value for Au3 being roughly twice as large as that of Au6. A gradual increase of the deposited cluster density (up to clusters cm−2) decreases the spin and momentum lifetime of the graphene channel, with Au6 clusters affecting both spin and momentum lifetime more strongly than the Au3 clusters. Density functional theory calculations provide insights into the spin relaxation mechanism. The dependence of graphene’s electronic and spintronic properties on the density and the exact cluster size indicates the importance of the microscopic details for graphene functionalisation towards spintronic applications.

Chromatographic Approach to Isolate Exfoliated Graphene.

A chromatographic approach for separating exfoliated graphene from natural flake graphite is presented. Graphene is an extremely strong, electrically and thermally conductive two-dimensional hexagonal array of carbon atoms with the potential to transform applications such as supercapacitors, composites, biosensors, ultra-thin touchscreens, and solar cells. However, many of these applications require the use of exfoliated graphene, and the current cost of this material can be prohibitive. The most cost-effective source of graphene is exfoliated graphite, and numerous approaches have been proposed for exfoliating graphite to graphene. Solution approaches are the most common, with graphite often exfoliated by extended sonication treatment followed by separation of graphene from graphite using centrifugation. This time-consuming approach results in low concentrations of small lateral dimension graphene, often in high-boiling-point organic solvents or containing stabilizers. In this study, a chromatographic approach is used in combination with a solvent interface trapping method of graphite exfoliation to isolate graphene. The interface trapping exfoliation approach uses a hydrophobic/hydrophilic solvent interface to spontaneously exfoliate graphite and form a graphene-stabilized water-in-oil emulsion. This emulsion contains both graphene and graphite, and when added to water-wet glass beads, graphene adsorbs onto the glass surface, leaving graphite in the hydrophobic mobile phase, where it is removed by washing with an additional oil phase. The efficiency of this scalable approach to separation is demonstrated by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Tyndall effect scattering.

Effect of different lateral dimension graphene oxide sheets on the interface of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites

The interfacial performance is one of the most important factors that determine the mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs). Recently, improving the interfacial properties of CFRPs using graphene oxide (GO) has received intensive attention from researchers. Using GO can effectively improve the interfacial properties of CFRPs, however, the effect of the size of GO on the properties of CFRPs remains unclear. In this study, GO sheets with different lateral dimensions are selected to elucidate the aforementioned issue. Results showed that GO sheets with smaller lateral dimensions are more advantageous to enhance the interfacial properties of CFRPs. The presence of a larger number of functional groups and higher roughness on the surface of CFs that modified by smaller GO sheets is believed to be contributing factor, as evidenced by XPS and AFM. Furthermore, higher surface energy is detected on the surface of smaller GO sheets modified CFs which is likely related to the size effect of nano-scale GO. The above suggests that nano-scale GO can significantly enhance the chemical bonding and mechanical interlocking of matrix-fiber interface. The proposed approach can be easily implemented which does not deteriorate the strength of CFs. This work provides an effective way to improve the interface properties of CFRPs using GO sheets with smaller lateral dimensions.

Facile fabrication for a stable interface in 2D materials/graphene van der Waals heterostructure

In order to fully utilize the excellent electrical properties of graphene as an electrode, it is essential to preserve the nature of pristine graphene. However, structural defects or polymer residues during the conventional fabrication steps are inevitable, severely limiting device performance. To overcome these issues, we used a seamless lateral graphene–graphene oxide (GO)-graphene layer fabricated by oxidation scanning probe lithography as electrodes of the MoS2 field-effect transistor. We demonstrated residue-free and flawless graphene surfaces and furthermore GO interlayer between the MoS2 and gate dielectric reduces interface roughness and screens interface traps, leading to improved electron injection and carrier mobility.

Room temperature two terminal tunnel magnetoresistance in a lateral graphene transistor

We investigate the behavior of both pure spin and spin-polarized currents measured with four-probe non-local and two probe local configurations up to room temperature and under an external gate voltage in a lateral graphene transistor, produced using a standard large-scale microfabrication process. The high spin diffusion length of pristine graphene in the channel, measured both directly and by the Hanle effect, and the tuning of the relationship between the electrode resistance areas present in the device architecture allowed us to observe local tunnel magnetoresistance at room temperature, a new finding for this type of device. The results also indicate that while pure spin currents are less sensitive to temperature variations, spin-polarized current switching by an external voltage is more efficient, due to a combination of the Rashba effect and a change in carrier mobility by a Fermi level shift.

A molecular device providing a remarkable spin filtering effect due to the central molecular stretch caused by lateral zigzag graphene nanoribbon electrodes.

Through the density functional theory, we studied molecular devices composed of single tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) molecules connected with zigzag graphene nanoribbon electrodes by four different junctions. Interestingly, some devices have exhibited half-metallic behavior and can bring out a perfect spin filtering effect and remarkable negative differential resistance behavior. The current-voltage characteristics show that these four devices possess different spin current values. We found that all the TTF molecules were stretched due to interactions with the electrodes in the four devices. This leads to the Fermi levels of the three devices being down-shifted to the valence band; therefore, these devices exhibit half-metallic properties. The underlying mechanisms of the different spin current values are attributed to the different electron transmission pathways (via chemical bonds or through hopping between atoms). These results suggest that the device properties and conductance are controlled by different junctions. Our work predicts an effective way for designing high-performance spin-injected molecular devices.

Facile processing for instant production of clinically-approvable nanoagents for combination cancer therapy

In order to produce more efficacious cancer treatments, combination therapies using stimuli-responsive therapeutic nanoagents (NAs) have been extensively researched over the past two decades. However, unexpected side effects, systemic toxicities, and validation and cost issues of newly developed NAs have hampered their practical application. The use of clinically-approved agents as NAs using particle engineering or modification is receiving renewed attention as an alternative strategy for the development of cancer nanomedicines. However, this approach is limited for postsurgical cancer treatments via external application to the surgical site; thus, the development of a realizable strategy to engineer clinically-approved agents for a broad application of cancer nanotherapeutics is still an important challenge. In this study, in situ assembly of NAs consisting of clinically-approvable Prussian blue nanocages (PB NCs), doxorubicin (D), an anticancer drug, and polyethylene glycol (peg), a stealth component was implemented via vibrating nozzle spraying for the production of a combination cancer phototherapy. The porous structure of PB NCs was ideal for loading D and peg, forming PB-Dpeg NAs to produce combination phototherapeutics, and this property was also useful for spontaneously patching up their surfaces with lateral nanodimensional graphene oxide flakes during assembly, for strengthening photothermal, sustained D release, and stealth effects without significant changes in the size and shape of PB-Dpeg.

Effect of grain boundary sliding on fracture toughness of ceramic/graphene composites

A model is suggested describing the effect of grain boundary (GB) sliding on the fracture toughness of ceramic/graphene composites. Within the model, GB sliding near the tip of a large mode I crack initiates the formation of a new nano- or microcrack at an adjacent GB. The new crack merges with the pre-existent one, thus providing crack propagation. For the situation where the suggested crack growth mechanism restricts the fracture toughness of ceramic/graphene composites, we calculated the dependence of the fracture toughness on grain size and lateral dimensions of graphene platelets. The calculations demonstrated that GB-sliding-assisted crack growth reduces fracture toughness, and the effect is strongest for the case where grain size is small and the lateral graphene platelet dimensions are close to the sizes of GBs. The results of the calculations agree with the experimental data on the fracture toughness of alumina/graphene composites.

Transfer‐Free Synthesis of Lateral Graphene–Hexagonal Boron Nitride Heterostructures from Chemically Converted Epitaxial Graphene

AbstractThe synthesis of lateral heterostructures of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN) has attracted attention due to the ability to broadly tune the electronic properties of the hybrid monolayer. Conventional synthesis methods for lateral heterostructures rely on chemical vapor deposition on metal surfaces, and application of the heterostructure in devices requires transfer of the material onto a suitable substrate during which the sample is susceptible to damage or contamination. Herein, a transfer‐free synthesis method to produce lateral heterostructures of graphene and h‐BN by chemical conversion of epitaxial graphene on 6H‐SiC(0001) is demonstrated. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements confirm the substitution of graphene with h‐BN, while scanning tunneling microscopy reveals that the h‐BN domains reside in‐plane with graphene forming an interface along the zig‐zag direction. Raman spectroscopy measurements provide insight into the reaction mechanism in which h‐BN is substituted for graphene at defect sites thereby reducing the defect density in the lateral heterostructure. The development of scalable, transfer‐free synthesis methods for lateral heterostructures of graphene and h‐BN, as demonstrated in this work, is expected to facilitate a route toward large‐scale synthesis of 2D semiconductors and atomically thin circuitry directly on‐chip.

High Photoresponsivity in Ultrathin 2D Lateral Graphene:WS2:Graphene Photodetectors Using Direct CVD Growth.

We show that reducing the degree of van der Waals overlapping in all 2D ultrathin lateral devices composed of graphene:WS2:graphene leads to significant increase in photodetector responsivity. This is achieved by directly growing WS2 using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in prepatterned graphene gaps to create epitaxial interfaces. Direct-CVD-grown graphene:WS2:graphene lateral photodetecting transistors exhibit high photoresponsivities reaching 121 A/W under 2.7 × 105 mW/cm2 532 nm illumination, which is around 2 orders of magnitude higher than similar devices made by the layer-by-layer transfer method. The photoresponsivity of our direct-CVD-grown device shows negative correlation with illumination power under different gate voltages, which is different from similar devices made by the transfer method. We show that the high photoresponsivity is due to the lowering of effective Schottky barrier height by improving the contact between graphene and WS2. Furthermore, the direct CVD growth reduces overlapping sections of WS2:Gr and leads to more uniform lateral systems. This approach provides insights into scalable manufacturing of high-quality 2D lateral electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Seamless lateral graphene p\u2013n junctions formed by selective in situ doping for high-performance photodetectors

Lateral graphene p–n junctions are important since they constitute the core components in a variety of electronic/photonic systems. However, formation of lateral graphene p–n junctions with a controllable doping levels is still a great challenge due to the monolayer feature of graphene. Herein, by performing selective ion implantation and in situ growth by dynamic chemical vapor deposition, direct formation of seamless lateral graphene p–n junctions with spatial control and tunable doping is demonstrated. Uniform lattice substitution with heteroatoms is achieved in both the boron-doped and nitrogen-doped regions and photoelectrical assessment reveals that the seamless lateral p–n junctions exhibit a distinct photocurrent response under ambient conditions. As ion implantation is a standard technique in microelectronics, our study suggests a simple and effective strategy for mass production of graphene p–n junctions with batch capability and spatial controllability, which can be readily integrated into the production of graphene-based electronics and photonics.