Counting graphene layers with very slow electrons

Journal Article · Mon Jan 05 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4905221· OSTI ID:22395674

Frank, Ludĕk; Mikmeková, Eliška; Müllerová, Ilona ^[1]; Lejeune, Michaël ^[2]

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1. Institute of Scientific Instruments AS CR, v.v.i., Královopolská 147, 61264 Brno (Czech Republic)
2. Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, Faculté des Sciences d'Amiens, Universite de Picardie Jules Verne, 33 rue Saint Leu, 80039 Amiens Cedex 2 (France)

The study aimed at collection of data regarding the transmissivity of freestanding graphene for electrons across their full energy scale down to the lowest energies. Here, we show that the electron transmissivity of graphene drops with the decreasing energy of the electrons and remains below 10% for energies below 30 eV, and that the slow electron transmissivity value is suitable for reliable determination of the number of graphene layers. Moreover, electrons incident below 50 eV release adsorbed hydrocarbon molecules and effectively clean graphene in contrast to faster electrons that decompose these molecules and create carbonaceous contamination.

• OSTI ID: 22395674
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 1; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ELECTRONS
EV RANGE
GRAPHENE
HYDROCARBONS
LAYERS
MOLECULES