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Title: Graphene nanoribbons: Relevance of etching process

Abstract

Most graphene nanoribbons in the experimental literature are patterned using plasma etching. Various etching processes induce different types of defects and do not necessarily result in the same electronic and structural ribbon properties. This study focuses on two frequently used etching techniques, namely, O{sub 2} plasma ashing and O{sub 2 }+ Ar reactive ion etching (RIE). O{sub 2} plasma ashing represents an alternative to RIE physical etching for sensitive substrates, as it is a more gentle chemical process. We find that plasma ashing creates defective graphene in the exposed trenches, resulting in instabilities in the ribbon transport. These are probably caused by more or larger localized states at the edges of the ashed device compared to the RIE defined device.

Authors:
; ; ;  [1]
  1. Solid State Physics Laboratory, ETH Zurich, Zurich 8093 (Switzerland)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22410183
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Applied Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 117; Journal Issue: 18; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; ARGON; COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS; CRYSTAL DEFECTS; ETCHING; GRAPHENE; IONS; NANOSTRUCTURES; OXYGEN; PLASMA; SUBSTRATES

Citation Formats

Simonet, P., E-mail: psimonet@phys.ethz.ch, Bischoff, D., Moser, A., Ihn, T., and Ensslin, K. Graphene nanoribbons: Relevance of etching process. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4921104.
Simonet, P., E-mail: psimonet@phys.ethz.ch, Bischoff, D., Moser, A., Ihn, T., & Ensslin, K. Graphene nanoribbons: Relevance of etching process. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4921104
Simonet, P., E-mail: psimonet@phys.ethz.ch, Bischoff, D., Moser, A., Ihn, T., and Ensslin, K. 2015. "Graphene nanoribbons: Relevance of etching process". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4921104.
@article{osti_22410183,
title = {Graphene nanoribbons: Relevance of etching process},
author = {Simonet, P., E-mail: psimonet@phys.ethz.ch and Bischoff, D. and Moser, A. and Ihn, T. and Ensslin, K.},
abstractNote = {Most graphene nanoribbons in the experimental literature are patterned using plasma etching. Various etching processes induce different types of defects and do not necessarily result in the same electronic and structural ribbon properties. This study focuses on two frequently used etching techniques, namely, O{sub 2} plasma ashing and O{sub 2 }+ Ar reactive ion etching (RIE). O{sub 2} plasma ashing represents an alternative to RIE physical etching for sensitive substrates, as it is a more gentle chemical process. We find that plasma ashing creates defective graphene in the exposed trenches, resulting in instabilities in the ribbon transport. These are probably caused by more or larger localized states at the edges of the ashed device compared to the RIE defined device.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4921104},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22410183}, journal = {Journal of Applied Physics},
issn = {0021-8979},
number = 18,
volume = 117,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu May 14 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Thu May 14 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}