Observation of Ground- and Excited-State Charge Transfer at the C60/Graphene Interface.

We examine charge transfer interactions in the hybrid system of a film of C60 molecules deposited on single-layer graphene using Raman spectroscopy and Terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy. In the absence of photoexcitation, we find that the C60 molecules in the deposited film act as electron acceptors for graphene, yielding increased hole doping in the graphene layer. Hole doping of the graphene film by a uniform C60 film at a level of 5.6 × 10(12)/cm(2) or 0.04 holes per interfacial C60 molecule was determined by the use of both Raman and THz spectroscopy. We also investigate transient charge transfer occurring upon photoexcitation by femtosecond laser pulses with a photon energy of 3.1 eV. The C60/graphene hybrid exhibits a short-lived (ps) decrease in THz conductivity, followed by a long-lived increase in conductivity. The initial negative photoconductivity transient, which decays within 2 ps, reflects the intrinsic photoresponse of graphene. The longer-lived positive conductivity transient, with a lifetime on the order of 100 ps, is attributed to photoinduced hole doping of graphene by interfacial charge transfer. We discuss possible microscopic pathways for hot carrier processes in the hybrid system.

Clean graphene electrodes on organic thin-film devices via orthogonal fluorinated chemistry.

Graphene is a promising flexible, highly transparent, and elementally abundant electrode for organic electronics. Typical methods utilized to transfer large-area films of graphene synthesized by chemical vapor deposition on metal catalysts are not compatible with organic thin-films, limiting the integration of graphene into organic optoelectronic devices. This article describes a graphene transfer process onto chemically sensitive organic semiconductor thin-films. The process incorporates an elastomeric stamp with a fluorinated polymer release layer that can be removed, post-transfer, via a fluorinated solvent; neither fluorinated material adversely affects the organic semiconductor materials. We used Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy to show that chemical vapor deposition graphene can be successfully transferred without inducing defects in the graphene film. To demonstrate our transfer method's compatibility with organic semiconductors, we fabricate three classes of organic thin-film devices: graphene field effect transistors without additional cleaning processes, transparent organic light-emitting diodes, and transparent small-molecule organic photovoltaic devices. These experiments demonstrate the potential of hybrid graphene/organic devices in which graphene is deposited directly onto underlying organic thin-film structures.

LED-Based Optical Device for Chronic In Vivo Cerebral Blood Volume Measurement.

We demonstrate a reflectivity-based cerebral blood volume sensor comprised of surface-mount light-emitting diodes on a flexible substrate with integrated photodetectors in a form factor suitable for direct brain contact and chronic implantation. This reflectivity monitor is able to measure blood flow through the change of the surface reflectivity and, through this mechanism, detect the cerebral-blood-volume changes associated with epileptic seizures with a signal-to-noise (SNR) response of 42 dB. The device is tested in an in vivo model confirming its compatibility and sensitivity. The data taken demonstrate that placing the sensor into direct brain contact improves the SNR by more than four orders of magnitude over current noncontact technologies.