Strain-induced suppression of weak localization in CVD-grown graphene.

We investigate the magnetic-field- and temperature-dependent transport properties of CVD-grown graphene transferred to a flexible substrate (Kapton) and subjected to externally applied strain. In zero magnetic field, a logarithmic temperature-dependent conductivity correction, resulting from strong electron-electron interaction, becomes weaker with the application of strains as large as 0.6% because of an increased rate of chiral-symmetry-breaking scattering. With the application of a perpendicular magnetic field, we also observe positive magnetoconductance at low temperature (T = 5 K) due to weak localization. This magnetoconductance is suppressed with increasing strain, concomitant with a rapid decrease of the intervalley scattering rate (τ(i)(-1)). Our results are in good agreement with theoretical expectations and are consistent with a strain-induced decoupling between graphene and its underlying Kapton substrate.

High efficiency graphene solar cells by chemical doping.

We demonstrate single layer graphene/n-Si Schottky junction solar cells that under AM1.5 illumination exhibit a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.6%. This performance, achieved by doping the graphene with bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide, exceeds the native (undoped) device performance by a factor of 4.5 and is the highest PCE reported for graphene-based solar cells to date. Current-voltage, capacitance-voltage, and external quantum efficiency measurements show the enhancement to be due to the doping-induced shift in the graphene chemical potential that increases the graphene carrier density (decreasing the cell series resistance) and increases the cell's built-in potential (increasing the open circuit voltage) both of which improve the solar cell fill factor.