Graphene nanoribbon devices at high bias.

We present the electron transport in graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) at high electric bias conduction. When graphene is patterned into a few tens of nanometer width of a ribbon shape, the carriers are confined to a quasi-one-dimensional (1D) system. Combining with the disorders in the system, this quantum confinement can lead into a transport gap in the energy spectrum of the GNRs. Similar to CNTs, this gap depends on the width of the GNR. In this review, we examine the electronic properties of lithographically fabricated GNRs, focusing on the high bias transport characteristics of GNRs as a function of density tuned by a gate voltage. We investigate the transport behavior of devices biased up to a few volts, a regime more relevant for electronics applications. We find that the high bias transport behavior in this limit can be described by hot electron scattered by the surface phonon emission, leading to a carrier velocity saturation. We also showed an enhanced current saturation effect in the GNRs with an efficient gate coupling. This effect results from the introduction of the charge neutrality point into the channel, and is similar to pinch-off in MOSFET devices. We also observe that heating effects in graphene at high bias are significant.

Raman spectroscopy of lithographically patterned graphene nanoribbons.

Nanometer-scale graphene objects are attracting much research interest because of newly emerging properties originating from quantum confinement effects. We present Raman spectroscopy studies of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), which are known to have nonzero electronic bandgap. GNRs of width ranging from 15 to 100 nm have been prepared by e-beam lithographic patterning of mechanically exfoliated graphene followed by oxygen plasma etching. Raman spectra of narrow GNRs can be characterized by an upshifted G band and a prominent disorder-related D band originating from scattering at the ribbon edges. The D-to-G band intensity ratio generally increases with decreasing ribbon width. However, its decrease in width of <25 nm, partly attributed to amorphization at the edges, provides a valuable experimental estimate on D mode relaxation length of <5 nm. The upshift in the G band of the narrowest GNRs can be attributed to confinement effect or chemical doping by functional groups on the GNR edges. Notably, GNRs are much more susceptible to photothermal effects resulting in reversible hole doping caused by atmospheric oxygen than bulk graphene sheets. Finally we show that the 2D band is still a reliable marker in determining the number of layers of GNRs despite its significant broadening for very narrow GNRs.

Electron and optical phonon temperatures in electrically biased graphene.

We examine the intrinsic energy dissipation steps in electrically biased graphene channels. By combining in-situ measurements of the spontaneous optical emission with a Raman spectroscopy study of the graphene sample under conditions of current flow, we obtain independent information on the energy distribution of the electrons and phonons. The electrons and holes contributing to light emission are found to obey a thermal distribution, with temperatures in excess of 1500 K in the regime of current saturation. The zone-center optical phonons are also highly excited and are found to be in equilibrium with the electrons. For a given optical phonon temperature, the anharmonic downshift of the Raman G mode is smaller than expected under equilibrium conditions, suggesting that the electrons and high-energy optical phonons are not fully equilibrated with all of the phonon modes.

Electron transport in disordered graphene nanoribbons.

We report an electron transport study of lithographically fabricated graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) of various widths and lengths. At the charge neutrality point, a length-independent transport gap forms whose size is inversely proportional to the GNR width. In this gap, electrons are localized, and charge transport exhibits a transition between thermally activated behavior at higher temperatures and variable range hopping at lower temperatures. By varying the geometric capacitance, we find that charging effects constitute a significant portion of the activation energy.

Reversible basal plane hydrogenation of graphene.

We report the chemical reaction of single-layer graphene with hydrogen atoms, generated in situ by electron-induced dissociation of hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ). Hydrogenation, forming sp3 C--H functionality on the basal plane of graphene, proceeds at a higher rate for single than for double layers, demonstrating the enhanced chemical reactivity of single sheet graphene. The net H atom sticking probability on single layers at 300 K is at least 0.03, which exceeds that of double layers by at least a factor of 15. Chemisorbed hydrogen atoms, which give rise to a prominent Raman D band, can be detached by thermal annealing at 100-200 degrees C. The resulting dehydrogenated graphene is "activated" when photothermally heated it reversibly binds ambient oxygen, leading to hole doping of the graphene. This functionalization of graphene can be exploited to manipulate electronic and charge transport properties of graphene devices.

Current saturation in zero-bandgap, top-gated graphene field-effect transistors.

The novel electronic properties of graphene, including a linear energy dispersion relation and purely two-dimensional structure, have led to intense research into possible applications of this material in nanoscale devices. Here we report the first observation of saturating transistor characteristics in a graphene field-effect transistor. The saturation velocity depends on the charge-carrier concentration and we attribute this to scattering by interfacial phonons in the SiO2 layer supporting the graphene channels. Unusual features in the current-voltage characteristic are explained by a field-effect model and diffusive carrier transport in the presence of a singular point in the density of states. The electrostatic modulation of the channel through an efficiently coupled top gate yields transconductances as high as 150 microS microm-1 despite low on-off current ratios. These results demonstrate the feasibility of two-dimensional graphene devices for analogue and radio-frequency circuit applications without the need for bandgap engineering.

Energy band-gap engineering of graphene nanoribbons.

We investigate electronic transport in lithographically patterned graphene ribbon structures where the lateral confinement of charge carriers creates an energy gap near the charge neutrality point. Individual graphene layers are contacted with metal electrodes and patterned into ribbons of varying widths and different crystallographic orientations. The temperature dependent conductance measurements show larger energy gaps opening for narrower ribbons. The sizes of these energy gaps are investigated by measuring the conductance in the nonlinear response regime at low temperatures. We find that the energy gap scales inversely with the ribbon width, thus demonstrating the ability to engineer the band gap of graphene nanostructures by lithographic processes.