Sample records for ab-stacked bilayer graphene

  1. High Yield Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth of High Quality Large-Area AB Stacked Bilayer Graphene

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Lixin; Zhou, Hailong; Cheng, Rui; Yu, Woo Jong; Liu, Yuan; Chen, Yu; Shaw, Jonathan; Zhong, Xing; Huang, Yu; Duan, Xiangfeng

    2012-01-01

    Bernal stacked (AB stacked) bilayer graphene is of significant interest for functional electronic and photonic devices due to the feasibility to continuously tune its band gap with a vertical electrical field. Mechanical exfoliation can be used to produce AB stacked bilayer graphene flakes but typically with the sizes limited to a few micrometers. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been recently explored for the synthesis of bilayer graphene but usually with limited coverage and a mixture of AB and randomly stacked structures. Herein we report a rational approach to produce large-area high quality AB stacked bilayer graphene. We show that the self-limiting effect of graphene growth on Cu foil can be broken by using a high H2/CH4 ratio in a low pressure CVD process to enable the continued growth of bilayer graphene. A high temperature and low pressure nucleation step is found to be critical for the formation of bilayer graphene nuclei with high AB stacking ratio. A rational design of a two-step CVD process is developed for the growth of bilayer graphene with high AB stacking ratio (up to 90 %) and high coverage (up to 99 %). The electrical transport studies demonstrated that devices made of the as-grown bilayer graphene exhibit typical characteristics of AB stacked bilayer graphene with the highest carrier mobility exceeding 4,000 cm2/V·s at room temperature, comparable to that of the exfoliated bilayer graphene. PMID:22906199

  2. AB-stacked square-like bilayer ice in graphene nanocapillaries.

    PubMed

    Zhu, YinBo; Wang, FengChao; Bai, Jaeil; Zeng, Xiao Cheng; Wu, HengAn

    2016-08-10

    Water, when constrained between two graphene sheets and under ultrahigh pressure, can manifest dramatic differences from its bulk counterparts such as the van der Waals pressure induced water-to-ice transformation, known as the metastability limit of two-dimensional (2D) liquid. Here, we present result of a new crystalline structure of bilayer ice with the AB-stacking order, observed from molecular dynamics simulations of constrained water. This AB-stacked bilayer ice (BL-ABI) is transformed from the puckered monolayer square-like ice (pMSI) under higher lateral pressure in the graphene nanocapillary at ambient temperature. BL-ABI is a proton-ordered ice with square-like pattern. The transition from pMSI to BL-ABI is through crystal-to-amorphous-to-crystal pathway with notable hysteresis-loop in the potential energy during the compression/decompression process, reflecting the compression/tensile limit of the 2D monolayer/bilayer ice. In a superheating process, the BL-ABI transforms into the AB-stacked bilayer amorphous ice with the square-like pattern.

  3. Synthesis of Large-grain, Single-crystalline Monolayer and AB-stacking Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Luyao; Lin, Yung-Chen; Zhang, Yi; Chang, Han-Wen; Yeh, Wen-Cheng; Zhou, Chongwu; USC Nanotechnology Research Laboratory Team

    2013-03-01

    We report the growth of large-grain, single-crystalline monolayer and AB-stacking bilayer graphene by the combination of ambient pressure chemical vapor deposition and low pressure chemical vapor deposition. The shape of the monolayer graphene was modified to be either hexagons or flowers under different growth conditions. The size of the bilayer graphene region was enlarged under ambient pressure growth conditions with low methane concentration. Raman spectra and selected area electron diffraction of individual graphene grain indicated that the each graphene grain is single-crystalline. With electron beam lithography patterned PMMA seeds, graphene nucleation can be controlled and graphene monolayer and bilayer arrays were synthesized on copper foil. Electron backscatter diffraction study revealed that the graphene morphology had little correlation with the crystalline orientation of underlying copper substrate. Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

  4. A dilute Cu(Ni) alloy for synthesis of large-area Bernal stacked bilayer graphene using atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Madito, M. J.; Bello, A.; Dangbegnon, J. K.

    2016-01-07

    A bilayer graphene film obtained on copper (Cu) foil is known to have a significant fraction of non-Bernal (AB) stacking and on copper/nickel (Cu/Ni) thin films is known to grow over a large-area with AB stacking. In this study, annealed Cu foils for graphene growth were doped with small concentrations of Ni to obtain dilute Cu(Ni) alloys in which the hydrocarbon decomposition rate of Cu will be enhanced by Ni during synthesis of large-area AB-stacked bilayer graphene using atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition. The Ni doped concentration and the Ni homogeneous distribution in Cu foil were confirmed with inductively coupledmore » plasma optical emission spectrometry and proton-induced X-ray emission. An electron backscatter diffraction map showed that Cu foils have a single (001) surface orientation which leads to a uniform growth rate on Cu surface in early stages of graphene growth and also leads to a uniform Ni surface concentration distribution through segregation kinetics. The increase in Ni surface concentration in foils was investigated with time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. The quality of graphene, the number of graphene layers, and the layers stacking order in synthesized bilayer graphene films were confirmed by Raman and electron diffraction measurements. A four point probe station was used to measure the sheet resistance of graphene films. As compared to Cu foil, the prepared dilute Cu(Ni) alloy demonstrated the good capability of growing large-area AB-stacked bilayer graphene film by increasing Ni content in Cu surface layer.« less

  5. A dilute Cu(Ni) alloy for synthesis of large-area Bernal stacked bilayer graphene using atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Madito, M. J.; Bello, A.; Dangbegnon, J. K.; Oliphant, C. J.; Jordaan, W. A.; Momodu, D. Y.; Masikhwa, T. M.; Barzegar, F.; Fabiane, M.; Manyala, N.

    2016-01-01

    A bilayer graphene film obtained on copper (Cu) foil is known to have a significant fraction of non-Bernal (AB) stacking and on copper/nickel (Cu/Ni) thin films is known to grow over a large-area with AB stacking. In this study, annealed Cu foils for graphene growth were doped with small concentrations of Ni to obtain dilute Cu(Ni) alloys in which the hydrocarbon decomposition rate of Cu will be enhanced by Ni during synthesis of large-area AB-stacked bilayer graphene using atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition. The Ni doped concentration and the Ni homogeneous distribution in Cu foil were confirmed with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and proton-induced X-ray emission. An electron backscatter diffraction map showed that Cu foils have a single (001) surface orientation which leads to a uniform growth rate on Cu surface in early stages of graphene growth and also leads to a uniform Ni surface concentration distribution through segregation kinetics. The increase in Ni surface concentration in foils was investigated with time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. The quality of graphene, the number of graphene layers, and the layers stacking order in synthesized bilayer graphene films were confirmed by Raman and electron diffraction measurements. A four point probe station was used to measure the sheet resistance of graphene films. As compared to Cu foil, the prepared dilute Cu(Ni) alloy demonstrated the good capability of growing large-area AB-stacked bilayer graphene film by increasing Ni content in Cu surface layer.

  6. Ab-initio calculation of electronic structure and optical properties of AB-stacked bilayer α-graphyne

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Behzad, Somayeh

    2016-09-01

    Monolayer α-graphyne is a new two-dimensional carbon allotrope with many special features. In this work the electronic properties of AA- and AB-stacked bilayers of this material and then the optical properties are studied, using first principle plane wave method. The electronic spectrum has two Dirac cones for AA stacked bilayer α-graphyne. For AB-stacked bilayer, the interlayer interaction changes the linear bands into parabolic bands. The optical spectra of the most stable AB-stacked bilayer closely resemble to that of the monolayer, except for small shifts of peak positions and increasing of their intensity. For AB-stacked bilayer, a pronounced peak has been found at low energies under the perpendicular polarization. This peak can be clearly ascribed to the transitions at the Dirac point as a result of the small degeneracy lift in the band structure.

  7. Equilibrium chemical vapor deposition growth of Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Pei; Kim, Sungjin; Chen, Xiao; Einarsson, Erik; Wang, Miao; Song, Yenan; Wang, Hongtao; Chiashi, Shohei; Xiang, Rong; Maruyama, Shigeo

    2014-11-25

    Using ethanol as the carbon source, self-limiting growth of AB-stacked bilayer graphene (BLG) has been achieved on Cu via an equilibrium chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. We found that during this alcohol catalytic CVD (ACCVD) a source-gas pressure range exists to break the self-limitation of monolayer graphene on Cu, and at a certain equilibrium state it prefers to form uniform BLG with a high surface coverage of ∼94% and AB-stacking ratio of nearly 100%. More importantly, once the BLG is completed, this growth shows a self-limiting manner, and an extended ethanol flow time does not result in additional layers. We investigate the mechanism of this equilibrium BLG growth using isotopically labeled (13)C-ethanol and selective surface aryl functionalization, and results reveal that during the equilibrium ACCVD process a continuous substitution of graphene flakes occurs to the as-formed graphene and the BLG growth follows a layer-by-layer epitaxy mechanism. These phenomena are significantly in contrast to those observed for previously reported BLG growth using methane as precursor.

  8. Interaction driven quantum Hall effect in artificially stacked graphene bilayers

    PubMed Central

    Iqbal, Muhammad Zahir; Iqbal, Muhammad Waqas; Siddique, Salma; Khan, Muhammad Farooq; Ramay, Shahid Mahmood; Nam, Jungtae; Kim, Keun Soo; Eom, Jonghwa

    2016-01-01

    The honeycomb lattice structure of graphene gives rise to its exceptional electronic properties of linear dispersion relation and its chiral nature of charge carriers. The exceptional electronic properties of graphene stem from linear dispersion relation and chiral nature of charge carries, originating from its honeycomb lattice structure. Here, we address the quantum Hall effect in artificially stacked graphene bilayers and single layer graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition. The quantum Hall plateaus started to appear more than 3 T and became clearer at higher magnetic fields up to 9 T. Shubnikov-de Hass oscillations were manifestly observed in graphene bilayers texture. These unusual plateaus may have been due to the layers interaction in artificially stacked graphene bilayers. Our study initiates the understanding of interactions between artificially stacked graphene layers. PMID:27098387

  9. Interaction driven quantum Hall effect in artificially stacked graphene bilayers.

    PubMed

    Iqbal, Muhammad Zahir; Iqbal, Muhammad Waqas; Siddique, Salma; Khan, Muhammad Farooq; Ramay, Shahid Mahmood; Nam, Jungtae; Kim, Keun Soo; Eom, Jonghwa

    2016-04-21

    The honeycomb lattice structure of graphene gives rise to its exceptional electronic properties of linear dispersion relation and its chiral nature of charge carriers. The exceptional electronic properties of graphene stem from linear dispersion relation and chiral nature of charge carries, originating from its honeycomb lattice structure. Here, we address the quantum Hall effect in artificially stacked graphene bilayers and single layer graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition. The quantum Hall plateaus started to appear more than 3 T and became clearer at higher magnetic fields up to 9 T. Shubnikov-de Hass oscillations were manifestly observed in graphene bilayers texture. These unusual plateaus may have been due to the layers interaction in artificially stacked graphene bilayers. Our study initiates the understanding of interactions between artificially stacked graphene layers.

  10. Stacking stability of MoS2 bilayer: An ab initio study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tao, Peng; Guo, Huai-Hong; Yang, Teng; Zhang, Zhi-Dong

    2014-10-01

    The study of the stacking stability of bilayer MoS2 is essential since a bilayer has exhibited advantages over single layer MoS2 in many aspects for nanoelectronic applications. We explored the relative stability, optimal sliding path between different stacking orders of bilayer MoS2, and (especially) the effect of inter-layer stress, by combining first-principles density functional total energy calculations and the climbing-image nudge-elastic-band (CI-NEB) method. Among five typical stacking orders, which can be categorized into two kinds (I: AA, AB and II: AA', AB', A'B), we found that stacking orders with Mo and S superposing from both layers, such as AA' and AB, is more stable than the others. With smaller computational efforts than potential energy profile searching, we can study the effect of inter-layer stress on the stacking stability. Under isobaric condition, the sliding barrier increases by a few eV/(ucGPa) from AA' to AB', compared to 0.1 eV/(ucGPa) from AB to [AB]. Moreover, we found that interlayer compressive stress can help enhance the transport properties of AA'. This study can help understand why inter-layer stress by dielectric gating materials can be an effective means to improving MoS2 on nanoelectronic applications.

  11. Electric-field-induced plasmon in AA-stacked bilayer graphene

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chuang, Y.C., E-mail: yingchih.chuang@gmail.com; Wu, J.Y., E-mail: yarst5@gmail.com; Lin, M.F., E-mail: mflin@mail.ncku.edu.tw

    2013-12-15

    The collective excitations in AA-stacked bilayer graphene for a perpendicular electric field are investigated analytically within the tight-binding model and the random-phase approximation. Such a field destroys the uniform probability distribution of the four sublattices. This drives a symmetry breaking between the intralayer and interlayer polarization intensities from the intrapair band excitations. A field-induced acoustic plasmon thus emerges in addition to the strongly field-tunable intrinsic acoustic and optical plasmons. At long wavelengths, the three modes show different dispersions and field dependence. The definite physical mechanism of the electrically inducible and tunable mode can be expected to also be present inmore » other AA-stacked few-layer graphenes. -- Highlights: •The analytical derivations are performed by the tight-binding model. •An electric field drives the non-uniformity of the charge distribution. •A symmetry breaking between the intralayer and interlayer polarizations is illustrated. •An extra plasmon emerges besides two intrinsic modes in AA-stacked bilayer graphene. •The mechanism of a field-induced mode is present in AA-stacked few-layer graphenes.« less

  12. Dislocations in bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Butz, Benjamin; Dolle, Christian; Niekiel, Florian; Weber, Konstantin; Waldmann, Daniel; Weber, Heiko B; Meyer, Bernd; Spiecker, Erdmann

    2014-01-23

    Dislocations represent one of the most fascinating and fundamental concepts in materials science. Most importantly, dislocations are the main carriers of plastic deformation in crystalline materials. Furthermore, they can strongly affect the local electronic and optical properties of semiconductors and ionic crystals. In materials with small dimensions, they experience extensive image forces, which attract them to the surface to release strain energy. However, in layered crystals such as graphite, dislocation movement is mainly restricted to the basal plane. Thus, the dislocations cannot escape, enabling their confinement in crystals as thin as only two monolayers. To explore the nature of dislocations under such extreme boundary conditions, the material of choice is bilayer graphene, the thinnest possible quasi-two-dimensional crystal in which such linear defects can be confined. Homogeneous and robust graphene membranes derived from high-quality epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide provide an ideal platform for their investigation. Here we report the direct observation of basal-plane dislocations in freestanding bilayer graphene using transmission electron microscopy and their detailed investigation by diffraction contrast analysis and atomistic simulations. Our investigation reveals two striking size effects. First, the absence of stacking-fault energy, a unique property of bilayer graphene, leads to a characteristic dislocation pattern that corresponds to an alternating AB B[Symbol: see text]AC change of the stacking order. Second, our experiments in combination with atomistic simulations reveal a pronounced buckling of the bilayer graphene membrane that results directly from accommodation of strain. In fact, the buckling changes the strain state of the bilayer graphene and is of key importance for its electronic properties. Our findings will contribute to the understanding of dislocations and of their role in the structural, mechanical and electronic

  13. Spectroscopic signatures of AA' and AB stacking of chemical vapor deposited bilayer MoS 2

    DOE PAGES

    Xia, Ming; Li, Bo; Yin, Kuibo; ...

    2015-11-04

    We discuss prominent resonance Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopic differences between AA'and AB stacked bilayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2) grown by chemical vapor deposition are reported. Bilayer MoS 2 islands consisting of the two stacking orders were obtained under identical growth conditions. Also, resonance Raman and photoluminescence spectra of AA' and AB stacked bilayer MoS 2 were obtained on Au nanopyramid surfaces under strong plasmon resonance. Both resonance Raman and photoluminescence spectra show distinct features indicating clear differences in interlayer interaction between these two phases. The implication of these findings on device applications based on spin and valley degrees of freedom.

  14. Synergistic effect of temperature and point defect on the mechanical properties of single layer and bi-layer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Debroy, Sanghamitra; Pavan Kumar, V.; Vijaya Sekhar, K.; Acharyya, Swati Ghosh; Acharyya, Amit

    2017-10-01

    The present study reports a comprehensive molecular dynamics simulation of the effect of a) temperature (300-1073 K at intervals of every 100 K) and b) point defect on the mechanical behaviour of single (armchair and zigzag direction) and bilayer layer graphene (AA and AB stacking). Adaptive intermolecular reactive bond order (AIREBO) potential function was used to describe the many-body short-range interatomic interactions for the single layer graphene sheet. Moreover, Lennard Jones model was considered for bilayer graphene to incorporate the van der Waals interactions among the interlayers of graphene. The effect of temperature on the strain energy of single layer and bilayer graphene was studied in order to understand the difference in mechanical behaviour of the two systems. The strength of the pristine single layer graphene was found to be higher as compared to bilayer AA stacked graphene at all temperatures. It was observed at 1073 K and in the presence of vacancy defect the strength for single layer armchair sheet falls by 30% and for bilayer armchair sheet by 33% as compared to the pristine sheets at 300 K. The AB stacked graphene sheet was found to have a two-step rupture process. The strength of pristine AB sheet was found to decrease by 22% on increase of temperature from 300 K to 1073 K.

  15. Edge states in gated bilayer-monolayer graphene ribbons and bilayer domain walls

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mirzakhani, M.; Zarenia, M.; Peeters, F. M.

    2018-05-01

    Using the effective continuum model, the electron energy spectrum of gated bilayer graphene with a step-like region of decoupled graphene layers at the edge of the sample is studied. Different types of coupled-decoupled interfaces are considered, i.e., zigzag (ZZ) and armchair junctions, which result in significant different propagating states. Two non-valley-polarized conducting edge states are observed for ZZ type, which are mainly located around the ZZ-ended graphene layers. Additionally, we investigated both BA-BA and BA-AB domain walls in the gated bilayer graphene within the continuum approximation. Unlike the BA-BA domain wall, which exhibits gapped insulating behaviour, the domain walls surrounded by different stackings of bilayer regions feature valley-polarized edge states. Our findings are consistent with other theoretical calculations, such as from the tight-binding model and first-principles calculations, and agree with experimental observations.

  16. Electronic and Optical Properties of Twisted Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Shengqiang

    The ability to isolate single atomic layers of van der Waals materials has led to renewed interest in the electronic and optical properties of these materials as they can be fundamentally different at the monolayer limit. Moreover, these 2D crystals can be assembled together layer by layer, with controllable sequence and orientation, to form artificial materials that exhibit new features that are not found in monolayers nor bulk. Twisted bilayer graphene is one such prototype system formed by two monolayer graphene layers placed on top of each other with a twist angle between their lattices, whose electronic band structure depends on the twist angle. This thesis presents the efforts to explore the electronic and optical properties of twisted bilayer graphene by Raman spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy measurements. We first synthesize twisted bilayer graphene with various twist angles via chemical vapor deposition. Using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, the twist angles are determined. The strength of the Raman G peak is sensitive to the electronic band structure of twisted bilayer graphene and therefore we use this peak to monitor changes upon doping. Our results demonstrate the ability to modify the electronic and optical properties of twisted bilayer graphene with doping. We also fabricate twisted bilayer graphene by controllable stacking of two graphene monolayers with a dry transfer technique. For twist angles smaller than one degree, many body interactions play an important role. It requires eight electrons per moire unit cell to fill up each band instead of four electrons in the case of a larger twist angle. For twist angles smaller than 0.4 degree, a network of domain walls separating AB and BA stacking regions forms, which are predicted to host topologically protected helical states. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, these states are confirmed to appear on the domain walls when inversion

  17. Double Barriers and Magnetic Field in Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Redouani, Ilham; Jellal, Ahmed; Bahlouli, Hocine

    2015-12-01

    We study the transmission probability in an AB-stacked bilayer graphene of Dirac fermions scattered by a double-barrier structure in the presence of a magnetic field. We take into account the full four bands structure of the energy spectrum and use the suitable boundary conditions to determine the transmission probability. Our numerical results show that for energies higher than the interlayer coupling, four ways for transmission are possible while for energies less than the height of the barrier, Dirac fermions exhibit transmission resonances and only one transmission channel is available. We show that, for AB-stacked bilayer graphene, there is no Klein tunneling at normal incidence. We find that the transmission displays sharp peaks inside the transmission gap around the Dirac point within the barrier regions while they are absent around the Dirac point in the well region. The effect of the magnetic field, interlayer electrostatic potential, and various barrier geometry parameters on the transmission probabilities is also discussed.

  18. Tunneling Plasmonics in Bilayer Graphene.

    PubMed

    Fei, Z; Iwinski, E G; Ni, G X; Zhang, L M; Bao, W; Rodin, A S; Lee, Y; Wagner, M; Liu, M K; Dai, S; Goldflam, M D; Thiemens, M; Keilmann, F; Lau, C N; Castro-Neto, A H; Fogler, M M; Basov, D N

    2015-08-12

    We report experimental signatures of plasmonic effects due to electron tunneling between adjacent graphene layers. At subnanometer separation, such layers can form either a strongly coupled bilayer graphene with a Bernal stacking or a weakly coupled double-layer graphene with a random stacking order. Effects due to interlayer tunneling dominate in the former case but are negligible in the latter. We found through infrared nanoimaging that bilayer graphene supports plasmons with a higher degree of confinement compared to single- and double-layer graphene, a direct consequence of interlayer tunneling. Moreover, we were able to shut off plasmons in bilayer graphene through gating within a wide voltage range. Theoretical modeling indicates that such a plasmon-off region is directly linked to a gapped insulating state of bilayer graphene, yet another implication of interlayer tunneling. Our work uncovers essential plasmonic properties in bilayer graphene and suggests a possibility to achieve novel plasmonic functionalities in graphene few-layers.

  19. Ultraviolet absorption spectrum of the half-filled bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Apinyan, V.; Kopeć, T. K.

    2018-07-01

    We consider the optical properties of the half-filled AB-stacked bilayer graphene with the excitonic pairing and condensation between the layers. Both intra and interlayer local Coulomb interaction effects have been taken into account and the role of the exact Fermi energy has been discussed in details. We have calculated the absorption coefficient, refractive index, dielectric response functions and the electron energy loss spectrum for different interlayer Coulomb interaction regimes and for different temperatures. Considering the full four-band model for the interacting AB bilayer graphene, a good agreement is achieved with other theoretical and experimental works on the subject, in particular, limiting cases of the theory. The calculations, presented here, permit to estimate accurately the effects of excitonic pairing and condensation on the optical properties of the bilayer graphene. The modifications of the plasmon excitation spectrum are discussed in details for a very large interval of the interlayer interaction parameter.

  20. Voltage tunable plasmon propagation in dual gated bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Farzaneh, Seyed M.; Rakheja, Shaloo

    2017-10-01

    In this paper, we theoretically investigate plasmon propagation characteristics in AB and AA stacked bilayer graphene (BLG) in the presence of energy asymmetry due to an electrostatic field oriented perpendicularly to the plane of the graphene sheet. We first derive the optical conductivity of BLG using the Kubo formalism incorporating energy asymmetry and finite electron scattering. All results are obtained for room temperature (300 K) operation. By solving Maxwell's equations in a dual gate device setup, we obtain the wavevector of propagating plasmon modes in the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) directions at terahertz frequencies. The plasmon wavevector allows us to compare the compression factor, propagation length, and the mode confinement of TE and TM plasmon modes in bilayer and monolayer graphene sheets and also to study the impact of material parameters on plasmon characteristics. Our results show that the energy asymmetry can be harnessed to increase the propagation length of TM plasmons in BLG. AA stacked BLG shows a larger increase in the propagation length than AB stacked BLG; conversely, it is very insensitive to the Fermi level variations. Additionally, the dual gate structure allows independent modulation of the energy asymmetry and the Fermi level in BLG, which is advantageous for reconfiguring plasmon characteristics post device fabrication.

  1. Effect of impurity doping on tunneling conductance in AB-stacked bi-layer graphene: A tight-binding study

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rout, G. C., E-mail: siva1987@iopb.res.in, E-mail: skp@iopb.res.in, E-mail: gcr@iopb.res.in; Sahu, Sivabrata; Panda, S. K.

    2016-04-13

    We report here a microscopic tight-binding model calculation for AB-stacked bilayer graphene in presence of biasing potential between the two layers and the impurity effects to study the evolution of the total density of states with special emphasis on opening of band gap near Dirac point. We have calculated the electron Green’s functions for both the A and B sub-lattices by Zubarev technique. The imaginary part of the Green’s function gives the partial and total density of states of electrons. The density of states are computed numerically for 1000 × 1000 grid points of the electron momentum. The evolution ofmore » the opening of band gap near van-Hove singularities as well as near Dirac point is investigated by varying the different interlayer hoppings and the biasing potentials. The inter layer hopping splits the density of states at van-Hove singularities and produces a V-shaped gap near Dirac point. Further the biasing potential introduces a U shaped gap near Dirac point with a density minimum at the applied potential(i.e. at V/2).« less

  2. Thermal Conductivity of Twisted Bilayer Graphene Nanoribbons from Non-equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Study.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Chenyang; Su, Shanshan; Ge, Supeng; Lake, Roger

    Misorientation of the two layers of bilayer graphene affects both the electronic properties and the vibrational modes or phonons. The phonon density of modes is little affected by misorientation, however, zone-folding can allow new Umklapp scattering processes that could affect the phonon transport and thermal conductivity. To investigate this, we use NEMD molecular dynamics simulations as implemented in LAMMPS to study the thermal conductivity of the misoriented graphene bilayers. Seven commensurate misorientation angles varying from 6.01º to 48.36º have modeled and analyzed to understand how the misorientation angle affects the thermal conductivity of relatively wide ( 10 nm) misoriented bilayer graphene nanoribbons (m-BLGNRs). Within numerical accuracy, we find that the thermal conductivity of the m-BLGNRs for all of the simulated commensurate angles have the same thermal conductivity with AB stacked and AA stacked BLGNRs. These results indicate that neither the misorientation angle nor the stacking order affect the thermal conductivity of BLGNRs. This work was supported as part by the NSF #1307671.

  3. Edge functionalised & Li-intercalated 555-777 defective bilayer graphene for the adsorption of CO2 and H2O

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lalitha, Murugan; Lakshmipathi, Senthilkumar; Bhatia, Suresh K.

    2017-04-01

    The adsorption of CO2 and H2O on divacanacy (DV) defected graphene cluster, and its bilayer counterpart is investigated using first-principles calculations. Both single and bilayer DV graphene cluster, are functionalised with H and F atoms. On these sheets the gas molecules are physisorbed, and the divacancy defect effectively improves the adsorption of CO2, while fluorination enhances the hydrophobicity of the graphene cluster. Among the convex and concave curvature regions induced due to the DV defect, the adsorption of the gas molecules on the concave meniscus is more favourable. Fluorine termination induces 73% reduction in Henry law constants for H2O, while for the CO2 molecule it increases by 8%, which indicates the DV defective sheet is a better candidate for CO2 capture compared to the STW defective sheet. Besides, both AA and AB divacant defect bilayer sheets are equally stable, wherein AA stacking results in a cavity between the sheets, while in AB stacking, the layers slide one over the other. Nevertheless, both these bilayer sheets are comparatively stabler than the monolayer. However, intercalation of lithium decreases the interlayer separation, particularly in AA stacking, which enhances the CO2 adsorption, but in the Bernal stacking enhances it hydrophobicity.

  4. Dislocations in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butz, Benjamin; Dolle, Christian; Niekiel, Florian; Weber, Konstantin; Waldmann, Daniel; Weber, Heiko B.; Meyer, Bernd; Spiecker, Erdmann

    2014-01-01

    Dislocations represent one of the most fascinating and fundamental concepts in materials science. Most importantly, dislocations are the main carriers of plastic deformation in crystalline materials. Furthermore, they can strongly affect the local electronic and optical properties of semiconductors and ionic crystals. In materials with small dimensions, they experience extensive image forces, which attract them to the surface to release strain energy. However, in layered crystals such as graphite, dislocation movement is mainly restricted to the basal plane. Thus, the dislocations cannot escape, enabling their confinement in crystals as thin as only two monolayers. To explore the nature of dislocations under such extreme boundary conditions, the material of choice is bilayer graphene, the thinnest possible quasi-two-dimensional crystal in which such linear defects can be confined. Homogeneous and robust graphene membranes derived from high-quality epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide provide an ideal platform for their investigation. Here we report the direct observation of basal-plane dislocations in freestanding bilayer graphene using transmission electron microscopy and their detailed investigation by diffraction contrast analysis and atomistic simulations. Our investigation reveals two striking size effects. First, the absence of stacking-fault energy, a unique property of bilayer graphene, leads to a characteristic dislocation pattern that corresponds to an alternating ABAC change of the stacking order. Second, our experiments in combination with atomistic simulations reveal a pronounced buckling of the bilayer graphene membrane that results directly from accommodation of strain. In fact, the buckling changes the strain state of the bilayer graphene and is of key importance for its electronic properties. Our findings will contribute to the understanding of dislocations and of their role in the structural, mechanical and electronic properties of bilayer and

  5. Electronic properties of bilayer graphenes strongly coupled to interlayer stacking and an external field

    DOE PAGES

    Park, Changwon; Ryou, Junga; Hong, Suklyun; ...

    2015-07-02

    Bilayer graphene (BLG) with a tunable band gap appears interesting as an alternative to graphene for practical applications; thus, its transport properties are being actively pursued. Using density functional theory and perturbation analysis, we investigated, under an external electric field, the electronic properties of BLG in various stackings relevant to recently observed complex structures. We established the first phase diagram summarizing the stacking-dependent gap openings of BLG for a given field. Lastly, we further identified high-density midgap states, localized on grain boundaries, even under a strong field, which can considerably reduce the overall transport gap.

  6. The electronic transport properties of defected bilayer sliding armchair graphene nanoribbons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mohammadi, Amin; Haji-Nasiri, Saeed

    2018-04-01

    By applying non-equilibrium Green's functions (NEGF) in combination with tight-binding (TB) model, we investigate and compare the electronic transport properties of perfect and defected bilayer armchair graphene nanoribbons (BAGNRs) under finite bias. Two typical defects which are placed in the middle of top layer (i.e. single vacancy (SV) and stone wale (SW) defects) are examined. The results reveal that in both perfect and defected bilayers, the maximum current refers to β-AB, AA and α-AB stacking orders, respectively, since the intermolecular interactions are stronger in them. Moreover it is observed that a SV decreases the current in all stacking orders, but the effects of a SW defect is nearly unpredictable. Besides, we introduced a sequential switching behavior and the effects of defects on the switching performance is studied as well. We found that a SW defect can significantly improve the switching behavior of a bilayer system. Transmission spectrum, band structure, molecular energy spectrum and molecular projected self-consistent Hamiltonian (MPSH) are analyzed subsequently to understand the electronic transport properties of these bilayer devices which can be used in developing nano-scale bilayer systems.

  7. Theoretical investigation of structural and optical properties of semi-fluorinated bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xiao-Jiao, San; Bai, Han; Jing-Geng, Zhao

    2016-03-01

    We have studied the structural and optical properties of semi-fluorinated bilayer graphene using density functional theory. When the interlayer distance is 1.62 Å, the two graphene layers in AA stacking can form strong chemical bonds. Under an in-plane stress of 6.8 GPa, this semi-fluorinated bilayer graphene becomes the energy minimum. Our calculations indicate that the semi-fluorinated bilayer graphene with the AA stacking sequence and rectangular fluorinated configuration is a nonmagnetic semiconductor (direct gap of 3.46 eV). The electronic behavior at the vicinity of the Fermi level is mainly contributed by the p electrons of carbon atoms forming C=C double bonds. We compare the optical properties of the semi-fluorinated bilayer graphene with those of bilayer graphene stacked in the AA sequence and find that the semi-fluorinated bilayer graphene is anisotropic for the polarization vector on the basal plane of graphene and a red shift occurs in the [010] polarization, which makes the peak at the low-frequency region located within visible light. This investigation is useful to design polarization-dependence optoelectronic devices. Project supported by the Program of Educational Commission of Heilongjiang Province, China (Grant No. 12541131).

  8. Highly Conductive and Transparent Large-Area Bilayer Graphene Realized by MoCl5 Intercalation.

    PubMed

    Kinoshita, Hiroki; Jeon, Il; Maruyama, Mina; Kawahara, Kenji; Terao, Yuri; Ding, Dong; Matsumoto, Rika; Matsuo, Yutaka; Okada, Susumu; Ago, Hiroki

    2017-11-01

    Bilayer graphene (BLG) comprises a 2D nanospace sandwiched by two parallel graphene sheets that can be used to intercalate molecules or ions for attaining novel functionalities. However, intercalation is mostly demonstrated with small, exfoliated graphene flakes. This study demonstrates intercalation of molybdenum chloride (MoCl 5 ) into a large-area, uniform BLG sheet, which is grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). This study reveals that the degree of MoCl 5 intercalation strongly depends on the stacking order of the graphene; twist-stacked graphene shows a much higher degree of intercalation than AB-stacked. Density functional theory calculations suggest that weak interlayer coupling in the twist-stacked graphene contributes to the effective intercalation. By selectively synthesizing twist-rich BLG films through control of the CVD conditions, low sheet resistance (83 Ω ▫ -1 ) is realized after MoCl 5 intercalation, while maintaining high optical transmittance (≈95%). The low sheet resistance state is relatively stable in air for more than three months. Furthermore, the intercalated BLG film is applied to organic solar cells, realizing a high power conversion efficiency. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. Basal-plane dislocations in bilayer graphene - Peculiarities in a quasi-2D material

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butz, Benjamin

    2015-03-01

    Dislocations represent one of the most fascinating and fundamental concepts in materials science. First and foremost, they are the main carriers of plastic deformation in crystalline materials. Furthermore, they can strongly alter the local electronic or optical properties of semiconductors and ionic crystals. In layered crystals like graphite dislocation movement is restricted to the basal plane. Thus, those basal-plane dislocations cannot escape enabling their confinement in between only two atomic layers of the material. So-called bilayer graphene is the thinnest imaginable quasi-2D crystal to explore the nature and behavior of dislocations under such extreme boundary conditions. Robust graphene membranes derived from epitaxial graphene on SiC provide an ideal platform for their investigation. The presentation will give an insight in the direct observation of basal-plane partial dislocations by transmission electron microscopy and their detailed investigation by diffraction contrast analysis and atomistic simulations. The investigation reveals striking size effects. First, the absence of stacking fault energy, a unique property of bilayer graphene, leads to a characteristic dislocation pattern, which corresponds to an alternating AB <--> BA change of the stacking order. Most importantly, our experiments in combination with atomistic simulations reveal a pronounced buckling of the bilayer graphene membrane, which directly results from accommodation of strain. In fact, the buckling completely changes the strain state of the bilayer graphene and is of key importance for its electronic/spin transport properties. Due to the high degree of disorder in our quasi-2D material it is one of the very few examples for a perfect linear magnetoresistance, i.e. the linear dependency of the in-plane electrical resistance on a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the graphene sheet up to field strengths of more than 60 T. This research is financed by the German Research

  10. Structural and electronic transformation in low-angle twisted bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gargiulo, Fernando; Yazyev, Oleg V.

    2018-01-01

    Experiments on bilayer graphene unveiled a fascinating realization of stacking disorder where triangular domains with well-defined Bernal stacking are delimited by a hexagonal network of strain solitons. Here we show by means of numerical simulations that this is a consequence of a structural transformation of the moiré pattern inherent to twisted bilayer graphene taking place at twist angles θ below a crossover angle θ\\star=1.2\\circ . The transformation is governed by the interplay between the interlayer van der Waals interaction and the in-plane strain field, and is revealed by a change in the functional form of the twist energy density. This transformation unveils an electronic regime characteristic of vanishing twist angles in which the charge density converges, though not uniformly, to that of ideal bilayer graphene with Bernal stacking. On the other hand, the stacking domain boundaries form a distinct charge density pattern that provides the STM signature of the hexagonal solitonic network.

  11. Tunneling magnetoresistance tuned by a vertical electric field in an AA-stacked graphene bilayer with double magnetic barriers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Dali, E-mail: wangdali@mail.ahnu.edu.cn; National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Department of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093; Jin, Guojun, E-mail: gjin@nju.edu.cn

    2013-12-21

    We investigate the effect of a vertical electric field on the electron tunneling and magnetoresistance in an AA-stacked graphene bilayer modulated by the double magnetic barriers with parallel or antiparallel configuration. The results show that the electronic transmission properties in the system are sensitive to the magnetic-barrier configuration and the bias voltage between the graphene layers. In particular, it is found that for the antiparallel configuration, within the low energy region, the blocking effect is more obvious compared with the case for the parallel configuration, and even there may exist a transmission spectrum gap which can be arbitrarily tuned bymore » the field-induced interlayer bias voltage. We also demonstrate that the significant discrepancy between the conductance for both parallel and antiparallel configurations would result in a giant tunneling magnetoresistance ratio, and further the maximal magnetoresistance ratio can be strongly modified by the interlayer bias voltage. This leads to the possible realization of high-quality magnetic sensors controlled by a vertical electric field in the AA-stacked graphene bilayer.« less

  12. Reducing the layer number of AB stacked multilayer graphene grown on nickel by annealing at low temperature.

    PubMed

    Velasco, J Marquez; Giamini, S A; Kelaidis, N; Tsipas, P; Tsoutsou, D; Kordas, G; Raptis, Y S; Boukos, N; Dimoulas, A

    2015-10-09

    Controlling the number of layers of graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition is crucial for large scale graphene application. We propose here an etching process of graphene which can be applied immediately after growth to control the number of layers. We use nickel (Ni) foil at high temperature (T = 900 °C) to produce multilayer-AB-stacked-graphene (MLG). The etching process is based on annealing the samples in a hydrogen/argon atmosphere at a relatively low temperature (T = 450 °C) inside the growth chamber. The extent of etching is mainly controlled by the annealing process duration. Using Raman spectroscopy we demonstrate that the number of layers was reduced, changing from MLG to few-layer-AB-stacked-graphene and in some cases to randomly oriented few layer graphene near the substrate. Furthermore, our method offers the significant advantage that it does not introduce defects in the samples, maintaining their original high quality. This fact and the low temperature our method uses make it a good candidate for controlling the layer number of already grown graphene in processes with a low thermal budget.

  13. Organic doping of rotated double layer graphene

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    George, Lijin; Jaiswal, Manu, E-mail: manu.jaiswal@iitm.ac.in

    2016-05-06

    Charge transfer techniques have been extensively used as knobs to tune electronic properties of two- dimensional systems, such as, for the modulation of conductivity \\ mobility of single layer graphene and for opening the bandgap in bilayer graphene. The charge injected into the graphene layer shifts the Fermi level away from the minimum density of states point (Dirac point). In this work, we study charge transfer in rotated double-layer graphene achieved by the use of organic dopant, Tetracyanoquinodimethane. Naturally occurring bilayer graphene has a well-defined A-B stacking whereas in rotated double-layer the two graphene layers are randomly stacked with differentmore » rotational angles. This rotation is expected to significantly alter the interlayer interaction. Double-layer samples are prepared using layer-by-layer assembly of chemical vapor deposited single-layer graphene and they are identified by characteristic resonance in the Raman spectrum. The charge transfer and distribution of charges between the two graphene layers is studied using Raman spectroscopy and the results are compared with that for single-layer and A-B stacked bilayer graphene doped under identical conditions.« less

  14. Ab initio studies of hydrogen adatoms on bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mapasha, R. E.; Ukpong, A. M.; Chetty, N.

    2012-05-01

    We present a comparative density functional study of the adsorption of hydrogen on bilayer graphene. Six different exchange-correlation functionals are employed to explore the possible configurations of hydrogen adsorption at 50% coverage. Using the four variants of the nonlocal van der Waals density functional, we identify three distinct competing configurations that retain the coupled bilayer structure at 0 K. One of the configurations undergoes a spontaneous transformation from hexagonal to tetrahedral structure, under hydrogenation, with heat of formation ranging between -0.03 eV (vdW-DF) and -0.37 eV (vdW-DFC09x). This configuration has a finite band gap of around 3 eV, whereas all other competing configurations are either semimetallic or metallic. We also find two unique low-energy competing configurations of decoupled bilayer graphene, and therefore suggest the possibility of graphene exfoliation by hydrogen intercalation.

  15. Topological Quantum Phase Transitions in Two-Dimensional Hexagonal Lattice Bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhai, Xuechao; Jin, Guojun

    2013-09-01

    Since the successful fabrication of graphene, two-dimensional hexagonal lattice structures have become a research hotspot in condensed matter physics. In this short review, we theoretically focus on discussing the possible realization of a topological insulator (TI) phase in systems of graphene bilayer (GBL) and boron nitride bilayer (BNBL), whose band structures can be experimentally modulated by an interlayer bias voltage. Under the bias, a band gap can be opened in AB-stacked GBL but is still closed in AA-stacked GBL and significantly reduced in AA- or AB-stacked BNBL. In the presence of spin-orbit couplings (SOCs), further demonstrations indicate whether the topological quantum phase transition can be realized strongly depends on the stacking orders and symmetries of structures. It is observed that a bulk band gap can be first closed and then reopened when the Rashba SOC increases for gated AB-stacked GBL or when the intrinsic SOC increases for gated AA-stacked BNBL. This gives a distinct signal for a topological quantum phase transition, which is further characterized by a jump of the ℤ2 topological invariant. At fixed SOCs, the TI phase can be well switched by the interlayer bias and the phase boundaries are precisely determined. For AA-stacked GBL and AB-stacked BNBL, no strong TI phase exists, regardless of the strength of the intrinsic or Rashba SOCs. At last, a brief overview is given on other two-dimensional hexagonal materials including silicene and molybdenum disulfide bilayers.

  16. Stacking orders induced direct band gap in bilayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructures.

    PubMed

    Hu, Xiaohui; Kou, Liangzhi; Sun, Litao

    2016-08-16

    The direct band gap of monolayer semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides (STMDs) enables a host of new optical and electrical properties. However, bilayer STMDs are indirect band gap semiconductors, which limits its applicability for high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. Here, we report that the direct band gap can be achieved in bilayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructures by alternating stacking orders. Specifically, when Se atoms from opposite layers are stacked directly on top of each other, AA and A'B stacked heterostructures show weaker interlayer coupling, larger interlayer distance and direct band gap. Whereas, when Se atoms from opposite layers are staggered, AA', AB and AB' stacked heterostructures exhibit stronger interlayer coupling, shorter interlayer distance and indirect band gap. Thus, the direct/indirect band gap can be controllable in bilayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructures. In addition, the calculated sliding barriers indicate that the stacking orders of bilayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructures can be easily formed by sliding one layer with respect to the other. The novel direct band gap in bilayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructures provides possible application for high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. The results also show that the stacking order is an effective strategy to induce and tune the band gap of layered STMDs.

  17. Layer-selective synthesis of bilayer graphene via chemical vapor deposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Ning; Choi, Kyoungjun; Robertson, John; Park, Hyung Gyu

    2017-09-01

    A controlled synthesis of high-quality AB-stacked bilayer graphene by chemical vapor deposition demands a detailed understanding of the mechanism and kinetics. By decoupling the growth of the two layers via a growth-and-regrowth scheme, we report the kinetics and termination mechanisms of the bilayer graphene growth on copper. We observe, for the first time, that the secondary layer growth follows Gompertzian kinetics. Our observations affirm the postulate of a time-variant transition from a mass-transport-limited to a reaction-limited regimes and identify the mechanistic disparity between the monolayer growth and the secondary-layer expansion underneath the monolayer cover. It is the continuous carbon supply that drives the expansion of the graphene secondary layer, rather than the initially captured carbon amount, suggesting an essential role of the surface diffusion of reactant adsorbates in the interspace between the top graphene layer and the underneath copper surface. We anticipate that the layer selectivity of the growth relies on the entrance energetics of the adsorbed reactants to the graphene-copper interspace across the primary-layer edge, which could be engineered by tailoring the edge termination state. The temperature-reliant saturation area of the secondary-layer expansion is understood as a result of competitive attachment of carbon and hydrogen adatoms to the secondary-layer graphene edge.

  18. Strain solitons and topological defects in bilayer graphene

    PubMed Central

    Alden, Jonathan S.; Tsen, Adam W.; Huang, Pinshane Y.; Hovden, Robert; Brown, Lola; Park, Jiwoong; Muller, David A.; McEuen, Paul L.

    2013-01-01

    Bilayer graphene has been a subject of intense study in recent years. The interlayer registry between the layers can have dramatic effects on the electronic properties: for example, in the presence of a perpendicular electric field, a band gap appears in the electronic spectrum of so-called Bernal-stacked graphene [Oostinga JB, et al. (2007) Nature Materials 7:151–157]. This band gap is intimately tied to a structural spontaneous symmetry breaking in bilayer graphene, where one of the graphene layers shifts by an atomic spacing with respect to the other. This shift can happen in multiple directions, resulting in multiple stacking domains with soliton-like structural boundaries between them. Theorists have recently proposed that novel electronic states exist at these boundaries [Vaezi A, et al. (2013) arXiv:1301.1690; Zhang F, et al. (2013) arXiv:1301.4205], but very little is known about their structural properties. Here we use electron microscopy to measure with nanoscale and atomic resolution the widths, motion, and topological structure of soliton boundaries and related topological defects in bilayer graphene. We find that each soliton consists of an atomic-scale registry shift between the two graphene layers occurring over 6–11 nm. We infer the minimal energy barrier to interlayer translation and observe soliton motion during in situ heating above 1,000 °C. The abundance of these structures across a variety of samples, as well as their unusual properties, suggests that they will have substantial effects on the electronic and mechanical properties of bilayer graphene. PMID:23798395

  19. Folded Optical Phonons in Twisted Bilayer Graphene: Raman Signature of Graphene Superlattices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Yanan; Su, Zhihua; Wu, Wei; Xing, Sirui; Lu, Xiaoxiang; Lu, Xinghua; Pei, Shin-Shem; Robles-Hernandez, Francisco; Hadjiev, Viktor; Bao, Jiming

    2013-03-01

    In contrast to Bernal-stacked graphene exfoliated from HOPG, twisted bilayer graphene are widely observed in the samples prepared by silicon sublimation of SiC or chemical vapor deposition (CVD). However, many of its basic properties still remain unrevealed. In this work, hexagon-shaped bilayer graphene islands synthesized by CVD method were systematically studied using Raman spectroscopy. A series of folded phonons were observed in the range from 1375 cm-1 to 1525 cm-1. The frequency of folded phonon modes doesn't shift with laser excitation energy, but it is highly dependent on the rotational angle between two layers. In general, the frequency of folded phonon decreases with the increase of rotation angle. This rotation dependence can be qualitatively explained by the folding of phonon dispersion curve of single layer graphene into the reduced Brillouin zone of bilayer superlattice. The obseravtion of folded phonon is an important indication of superlattice band structure.

  20. Revealing the preferred interlayer orientations and stackings of two-dimensional bilayer gallium selenide crystals.

    PubMed

    Li, Xufan; Basile, Leonardo; Yoon, Mina; Ma, Cheng; Puretzky, Alexander A; Lee, Jaekwang; Idrobo, Juan C; Chi, Miaofang; Rouleau, Christopher M; Geohegan, David B; Xiao, Kai

    2015-02-23

    Characterizing and controlling the interlayer orientations and stacking orders of two-dimensional (2D) bilayer crystals and van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures is crucial to optimize their electrical and optoelectronic properties. The four polymorphs of layered gallium selenide (GaSe) crystals that result from different layer stackings provide an ideal platform to study the stacking configurations in 2D bilayer crystals. Through a controllable vapor-phase deposition method, bilayer GaSe crystals were selectively grown and their two preferred 0° or 60° interlayer rotations were investigated. The commensurate stacking configurations (AA' and AB stacking) in as-grown bilayer GaSe crystals are clearly observed at the atomic scale, and the Ga-terminated edge structure was identified using scanning transmission electron microscopy. Theoretical analysis reveals that the energies of the interlayer coupling are responsible for the preferred orientations among the bilayer GaSe crystals. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Ab initio quasiparticle bandstructure of ABA and ABC-stacked graphene trilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Menezes, Marcos; Capaz, Rodrigo; Louie, Steven

    2013-03-01

    We obtain the quasiparticle band structure of ABA and ABC-stacked graphene trilayers through ab initio density functional theory (DFT) and many-body quasiparticle calculations within the GW approximation. To interpret our results, we fit the DFT and GW π bands to a low energy tight-binding model, which is found to reproduce very well the observed features near the K point. The values of the extracted hopping parameters are reported and compared with available theoretical and experimental data. For both stackings, the quasiparticle corrections lead to a renormalization of the Fermi velocity, an effect also observed in previous calculations on monolayer graphene. They also increase the separation between the higher energy bands, which is proportional to the nearest neighbor interlayer hopping parameter γ1. Both features are brought to closer agreement with experiment through the quasiparticle corrections. Finally, other effects, such as trigonal warping, electron-hole assymetry and energy gaps are discussed in terms of the associated parameters. This work was supported by the Brazilian funding agencies: CAPES, CNPq, FAPERJ and INCT-Nanomateriais de Carbono. It was also supported by NSF grant No. DMR10-1006184 and U.S. DOE under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

  2. Tunable phonon-induced transparency in bilayer graphene nanoribbons.

    PubMed

    Yan, Hugen; Low, Tony; Guinea, Francisco; Xia, Fengnian; Avouris, Phaedon

    2014-08-13

    In the phenomenon of plasmon-induced transparency, which is a classical analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in atomic gases, the coherent interference between two plasmon modes results in an optical transparency window in a broad absorption spectrum. With the requirement of contrasting lifetimes, typically one of the plasmon modes involved is a dark mode that has limited coupling to the electromagnetic radiation and possesses relatively longer lifetime. Plasmon-induced transparency not only leads to light transmission at otherwise opaque frequency regions but also results in the slowing of light group velocity and enhanced optical nonlinearity. In this article, we report an analogous behavior, denoted as phonon-induced transparency (PIT), in AB-stacked bilayer graphene nanoribbons. Here, light absorption due to the plasmon excitation is suppressed in a narrow window due to the coupling with the infrared active Γ-point optical phonon, whose function here is similar to that of the dark plasmon mode in the plasmon-induced transparency. We further show that PIT in bilayer graphene is actively tunable by electrostatic gating and estimate a maximum slow light factor of around 500 at the phonon frequency of 1580 cm(-1), based on the measured spectra. Our demonstration opens an avenue for the exploration of few-photon nonlinear optics and slow light in this novel two-dimensional material.

  3. Revealing the preferred interlayer orientations and stackings of two-dimensional bilayer gallium selenide crystals

    DOE PAGES

    Li, Xufan; Basile Carrasco, Leonardo A.; Yoon, Mina; ...

    2015-01-21

    Characterizing and controlling the interlayer orientations and stacking order of bilayer two-dimensional (2D) crystals and van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure is crucial to optimize their electrical and optoelectronic properties. The four polymorphs of layered gallium selenide (GaSe) that result from different layer stacking provide an ideal platform to study the stacking configurations in bilayer 2D crystals. Here, through a controllable vapor-phase deposition method we selectively grow bilayer GaSe crystals and investigate their two preferred 0° or 60° interlayer rotations. The commensurate stacking configurations (AA' and AB-stacking) in as-grown 2D bilayer GaSe crystals are clearly observed at the atomic scale andmore » the Ga-terminated edge structure are identified for the first time by using atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Theoretical analysis of the interlayer coupling energetics vs. interlayer rotation angle reveals that the experimentally-observed orientations are energetically preferred among the bilayer GaSe crystal polytypes. Here, the combined experimental and theoretical characterization of the GaSe bilayers afforded by these growth studies provide a pathway to reveal the atomistic relationships in interlayer orientations responsible for the electronic and optical properties of bilayer 2D crystals and vdW heterostructures.« less

  4. Twisted MoSe 2 bilayers with variable local stacking and interlayer coupling revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy

    DOE PAGES

    Puretzky, Alexander A.; Liang, Liangbo; Li, Xufan; ...

    2016-01-14

    Unique twisted bilayers of MoSe 2 with multiple stacking orientations and interlayer couplings in the narrow range of twist angles, 60 ± 3°, are revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy and theoretical analysis. The slight deviation from 60 allows the concomitant presence of patches featuring all three high-symmetry stacking configurations (2H or AA', AB', A'B) in one unique bilayer system. In this case, the periodic arrangement of the patches and their size strongly depend on the twist angle. Ab initio modeling predicts significant changes in frequencies and intensities of low-frequency modes versus stacking and twist angle. Experimentally, the variable stacking andmore » coupling across the interface is revealed by the appearance of two breathing modes corresponding to the mixture of the high-symmetry stacking configurations and unaligned regions of monolayers. Only one breathing mode is observed outside the narrow range of twist angles. This indicates a stacking transition to unaligned monolayers with mismatched atom registry without the in-plane restoring force required to generate a shear mode. As a result, the variable interlayer coupling and spacing in transition metal dichalcogenide bilayers revealed in this study may provide a new platform for optoelectronic applications of these materials.« less

  5. Twisted MoSe 2 bilayers with variable local stacking and interlayer coupling revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Puretzky, Alexander A.; Liang, Liangbo; Li, Xufan

    Unique twisted bilayers of MoSe 2 with multiple stacking orientations and interlayer couplings in the narrow range of twist angles, 60 ± 3°, are revealed by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy and theoretical analysis. The slight deviation from 60 allows the concomitant presence of patches featuring all three high-symmetry stacking configurations (2H or AA', AB', A'B) in one unique bilayer system. In this case, the periodic arrangement of the patches and their size strongly depend on the twist angle. Ab initio modeling predicts significant changes in frequencies and intensities of low-frequency modes versus stacking and twist angle. Experimentally, the variable stacking andmore » coupling across the interface is revealed by the appearance of two breathing modes corresponding to the mixture of the high-symmetry stacking configurations and unaligned regions of monolayers. Only one breathing mode is observed outside the narrow range of twist angles. This indicates a stacking transition to unaligned monolayers with mismatched atom registry without the in-plane restoring force required to generate a shear mode. As a result, the variable interlayer coupling and spacing in transition metal dichalcogenide bilayers revealed in this study may provide a new platform for optoelectronic applications of these materials.« less

  6. Potassium-doped n-type bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamada, Takatoshi; Okigawa, Yuki; Hasegawa, Masataka

    2018-01-01

    Potassium-doped n-type bilayer graphene was obtained. Chemical vapor deposited bilayer and single layer graphene on copper (Cu) foils were used. After etching of Cu foils, graphene was dipped in potassium hydroxide aqueous solutions to dope potassium. Graphene on silicon oxide was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Raman spectroscopy. Both XPS and EDX spectra indicated potassium incorporation into the bilayer graphene via intercalation between the graphene sheets. The downward shift of the 2D peak position of bilayer graphene after the potassium hydroxide (KOH) treatment was confirmed in Raman spectra, indicating that the KOH-treated bilayer graphene was doped with electrons. Electrical properties were measured using Hall bar structures. The Dirac points of bilayer graphene were shifted from positive to negative by the KOH treatment, indicating that the KOH-treated bilayer graphene was n-type conduction. For single layer graphene after the KOH treatment, although electron doping was confirmed from Raman spectra, the peak of potassium in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum was not detected. The Dirac points of single layer graphene with and without the KOH treatment showed positive.

  7. Confining and repulsive potentials from effective non-Abelian gauge fields in graphene bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    González, J.

    2016-10-01

    We investigate the effect of shear and strain in graphene bilayers, under conditions where the distortion of the lattice gives rise to a smooth one-dimensional modulation in the stacking sequence of the bilayer. We show that strain and shear produce characteristic Moiré patterns which can have the same visual appearance on a large scale, but representing graphene bilayers with quite different electronic properties. The different features in the low-energy electronic bands can be ascribed to the effect of a fictitious non-Abelian gauge field mimicking the smooth modulation of the stacking order. Strained and sheared bilayers show a complementary behavior, which can be understood from the fact that the non-Abelian gauge field acts as a repulsive interaction in the former, expelling the electron density away from the stacking domain walls, while behaving as a confining interaction leading to localization of the electronic states in the sheared bilayers. In this latter case, the presence of the effective gauge field explains the development of almost flat low-energy bands, resembling the form of the zeroth Landau level characteristic of a Dirac fermion field. The estimate of the gauge field strength in those systems gives a magnitude of the order of several tens of tesla, implying a robust phenomenology that should be susceptible of being observed in suitably distorted bilayer samples.

  8. Bilayer graphene lattice-layer entanglement in the presence of non-Markovian phase noise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bittencourt, Victor A. S. V.; Blasone, Massimo; Bernardini, Alex E.

    2018-03-01

    The evolution of single particle excitations of bilayer graphene under effects of non-Markovian noise is described with focus on the decoherence process of lattice-layer (LL) maximally entangled states. Once the noiseless dynamics of an arbitrary initial state is identified by the correspondence between the tight-binding Hamiltonian for the AB-stacked bilayer graphene and the Dirac equation—which includes pseudovectorlike and tensorlike field interactions—the noisy environment is described as random fluctuations on bias voltage and mass terms. The inclusion of noisy dynamics reproduces the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes: A non-Markovian noise model with a well-defined Markovian limit. Considering that an initial amount of entanglement shall be dissipated by the noise, two profiles of dissipation are identified. On one hand, for eigenstates of the noiseless Hamiltonian, deaths and revivals of entanglement are identified along the oscillation pattern for long interaction periods. On the other hand, for departing LL Werner and Cat states, the entanglement is suppressed although, for both cases, some identified memory effects compete with the pure noise-induced decoherence in order to preserve the the overall profile of a given initial state.

  9. Measuring Interlayer Shear Stress in Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Guorui; Dai, Zhaohe; Wang, Yanlei; Tan, PingHeng; Liu, Luqi; Xu, Zhiping; Wei, Yueguang; Huang, Rui; Zhang, Zhong

    2017-07-01

    Monolayer two-dimensional (2D) crystals exhibit a host of intriguing properties, but the most exciting applications may come from stacking them into multilayer structures. Interlayer and interfacial shear interactions could play a crucial role in the performance and reliability of these applications, but little is known about the key parameters controlling shear deformation across the layers and interfaces between 2D materials. Herein, we report the first measurement of the interlayer shear stress of bilayer graphene based on pressurized microscale bubble loading devices. We demonstrate continuous growth of an interlayer shear zone outside the bubble edge and extract an interlayer shear stress of 40 kPa based on a membrane analysis for bilayer graphene bubbles. Meanwhile, a much higher interfacial shear stress of 1.64 MPa was determined for monolayer graphene on a silicon oxide substrate. Our results not only provide insights into the interfacial shear responses of the thinnest structures possible, but also establish an experimental method for characterizing the fundamental interlayer shear properties of the emerging 2D materials for potential applications in multilayer systems.

  10. Experimental Investigation of the Electronic Properties of Twisted Bilayer Graphene by STM and STS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yin, Longjing; Qiao, Jiabin; Wang, Wenxiao; Zuo, Weijie; He, Lin

    The electronic properties of graphene multilayers depend sensitively on their stacking order. A twisted angle is treated as a unique degree of freedom to tune the electronic properties of graphene system. Here we study electronic structures of the twisted bilayers by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). We demonstrate that the interlayer coupling strength affects both the Van Hove singularities and the Fermi velocity of twisted bilayers dramatically. This removes the discrepancy about the Fermi velocity renormalization in the twisted bilayers and provides a consistent interpretation of all current data. Moreover, we report the experimental evidence for non-Abelian gauge potentials in twisted graphene bilayers by STM and STS. At a magic twisted angle, about 1.11°, a pronounced sharp peak is observed in the tunnelling spectra due to the action of the non-Abelian gauge fields. Because of the effective non-Abelian gauge fields, the rotation angle could transfer the charge carriers in the twisted bilayers from massless Dirac fermions into well localized electrons, or vice versa, efficiently. This provides a new route to tune the electronic properties of graphene systems, which will be essential in future graphene nanoelectronics.

  11. Stacking-dependent electronic property of trilayer graphene epitaxially grown on Ru(0001)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Que, Yande; Xiao, Wende, E-mail: wdxiao@iphy.ac.cn, E-mail: hjgao@iphy.ac.cn; Chen, Hui

    The growth, atomic structure, and electronic property of trilayer graphene (TLG) on Ru(0001) were studied by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy in combined with tight-binding approximation (TBA) calculations. TLG on Ru(0001) shows a flat surface with a hexagonal lattice due to the screening effect of the bottom two layers and the AB-stacking in the top two layers. The coexistence of AA- and AB-stacking in the bottom two layers leads to three different stacking orders of TLG, namely, ABA-, ABC-, and ABB-stacking. STS measurements combined with TBA calculations reveal that the density of states of TLG with ABC- andmore » ABB-stacking is characterized by one and two sharp peaks near to the Fermi level, respectively, in contrast to the V-shaped feature of TLG with ABA-stacking. Our work demonstrates that TLG on Ru(0001) might be an ideal platform for exploring stacking-dependent electronic properties of graphene.« less

  12. Stacking-dependent electronic property of trilayer graphene epitaxially grown on Ru(0001)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Que, Yande; Xiao, Wende; Chen, Hui; Wang, Dongfei; Du, Shixuan; Gao, Hong-Jun

    2015-12-01

    The growth, atomic structure, and electronic property of trilayer graphene (TLG) on Ru(0001) were studied by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy in combined with tight-binding approximation (TBA) calculations. TLG on Ru(0001) shows a flat surface with a hexagonal lattice due to the screening effect of the bottom two layers and the AB-stacking in the top two layers. The coexistence of AA- and AB-stacking in the bottom two layers leads to three different stacking orders of TLG, namely, ABA-, ABC-, and ABB-stacking. STS measurements combined with TBA calculations reveal that the density of states of TLG with ABC- and ABB-stacking is characterized by one and two sharp peaks near to the Fermi level, respectively, in contrast to the V-shaped feature of TLG with ABA-stacking. Our work demonstrates that TLG on Ru(0001) might be an ideal platform for exploring stacking-dependent electronic properties of graphene.

  13. Folding and stacking defects of graphene flakes probed by electron nanobeam

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Persichetti, L.; Fanfoni, M.; Sgarlata, A.

    2011-07-25

    Combining nanoscale imaging with local electron spectroscopy and diffraction has provided direct information on folding and stacking defects of graphene flakes produced by unrolled multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Structural data obtained by nanoarea electron diffraction complemented with systematic electron energy loss spectroscopy measurements of the surface plasmon losses of single flakes show the presence of flat bilayer regions coexisting with folded areas where the topology of buckled graphene resembles that of warped carbon nanostructures.

  14. Ab initio study of friction of graphene flake on graphene/graphite or SiC surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gulseren, Oguz; Tayran, Ceren; Sayin, Ceren Sibel

    Recently, the rich dynamics of graphene flake on graphite or SiC surfaces are revealed from atomic force microcopy experiments. The studies toward to the understanding of microscopic origin of friction are getting a lot of attention. Despite the several studies of these systems using molecular dynamics methods, density functional theory based investigations are limited because of the huge system sizes. In this study, we investigated the frictional force on graphene flake on graphite or SiC surfaces from pseudopotential planewave calculations based on density functional theory. In both cases, graphene flake (24 C) on graphite or SiC surface, bilayer flake is introduced by freezing the top layer as well as the bottom layer of the surface slab. After fixing the load with these frozen layers, we checked the relative motion of the flake over the surface. A minimum energy is reached when the flake is moved on graphene to attain AB stacking. We also conclude that edge reconstruction because of the finite size of the flake is very critical for frictional properties of the flake; therefore the saturation of dangling bonds with hydrogen is also addressed. Not only the symmetric configurations remaining parameter space is extensively studied. Supported by TUBITAK Project No: 114F162. This work is supported by TUBITAK Project No: 114F162.

  15. Mixing Of Mode Symmetries In Top Gated Bilayer And Multilayer Graphene Field Effect Devices

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chakraborty, Biswanath; Das, Anindya; Sood, A. K.

    2011-07-15

    We report Raman study to investigate the influence of stacking on the inversion symmetry breaking in top gated bi- and multi-layer ({approx}10 layers) graphene field effect transistors. The G phonon mode splits into a low frequency (G{sub low}) and a high frequency (G{sub high}) mode in bi- and multi-layer graphene and the two modes show different dependence on doping. The mode splitting is explained in terms of mixing of zone-center in-plane optical phonons representing in-phase and out-of-phase inter-layer atomic motions. Unlike in bilayer graphene, there is no transfer of intensity from G{sub low} to G{sub high} in multilayer graphene. Amore » comparison is made for the bilayer graphene data with the recent theory of Gava et al. [Phys. Rev. B 80, 155422 (2009)].« less

  16. Nitrogen Doping Enables Covalent-Like π–π Bonding between Graphenes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tian, Yong-Hui; Huang, Jingsong; Sheng, Xiaolan

    In neighboring layers of bilayer (and few-layer) graphenes, both AA and AB stacking motifs are known to be separated at a distance corresponding to van der Waals (vdW) interactions. In this Letter, we present for the first time a new aspect of graphene chemistry in terms of a special chemical bonding between the giant graphene "molecules". Through rigorous theoretical calculations, we demonstrate that the N-doped graphenes (NGPs) with various doping levels can form an unusual two-dimensional (2D) pi-pi bonding in bilayer NGPs bringing the neighboring NGPs to significantly reduced interlayer separations. The interlayer binding energies can be enhanced by upmore » to 50% compared to the pristine graphene bilayers that are characterized by only vdW interactions. Such an unusual chemical bonding arises from the pi-pi overlap across the vdW gap while the individual layers maintain their in-plane pi-conjugation and are accordingly planar. Moreover, the existence of the resulting interlayer covalent-like bonding is corroborated by electronic structure calculations and crystal orbital overlap population (COOP) analyses. In NGP-based graphite with the optimal doping level, the NGP layers are uniformly stacked and the 3D bulk exhibits metallic characteristics both in the in-plane and along the stacking directions.« less

  17. Nitrogen Doping Enables Covalent-Like π–π Bonding between Graphenes

    DOE PAGES

    Tian, Yong-Hui; Huang, Jingsong; Sheng, Xiaolan; ...

    2015-07-07

    In neighboring layers of bilayer (and few-layer) graphenes, both AA and AB stacking motifs are known to be separated at a distance corresponding to van der Waals (vdW) interactions. In this Letter, we present for the first time a new aspect of graphene chemistry in terms of a special chemical bonding between the giant graphene "molecules". Through rigorous theoretical calculations, we demonstrate that the N-doped graphenes (NGPs) with various doping levels can form an unusual two-dimensional (2D) pi-pi bonding in bilayer NGPs bringing the neighboring NGPs to significantly reduced interlayer separations. The interlayer binding energies can be enhanced by upmore » to 50% compared to the pristine graphene bilayers that are characterized by only vdW interactions. Such an unusual chemical bonding arises from the pi-pi overlap across the vdW gap while the individual layers maintain their in-plane pi-conjugation and are accordingly planar. Moreover, the existence of the resulting interlayer covalent-like bonding is corroborated by electronic structure calculations and crystal orbital overlap population (COOP) analyses. In NGP-based graphite with the optimal doping level, the NGP layers are uniformly stacked and the 3D bulk exhibits metallic characteristics both in the in-plane and along the stacking directions.« less

  18. Electromechanical oscillations in bilayer graphene

    PubMed Central

    Benameur, Muhammed M.; Gargiulo, Fernando; Manzeli, Sajedeh; Autès, Gabriel; Tosun, Mahmut; Yazyev, Oleg V.; Kis, Andras

    2015-01-01

    Nanoelectromechanical systems constitute a class of devices lying at the interface between fundamental research and technological applications. Realizing nanoelectromechanical devices based on novel materials such as graphene allows studying their mechanical and electromechanical characteristics at the nanoscale and addressing fundamental questions such as electron–phonon interaction and bandgap engineering. In this work, we realize electromechanical devices using single and bilayer graphene and probe the interplay between their mechanical and electrical properties. We show that the deflection of monolayer graphene nanoribbons results in a linear increase in their electrical resistance. Surprisingly, we observe oscillations in the electromechanical response of bilayer graphene. The proposed theoretical model suggests that these oscillations arise from quantum mechanical interference in the transition region induced by sliding of individual graphene layers with respect to each other. Our work shows that bilayer graphene conceals unexpectedly rich and novel physics with promising potential in applications based on nanoelectromechanical systems. PMID:26481767

  19. Hot carrier response in gapped bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aivazian, Grant; Ross, Jason; Watanabe, K.; Taniguchi, T.; Kitamura, K.; Cobden, David; Xu, Xiaodong

    2013-03-01

    Recently bilayer graphene has been shown to develop a bandgap upon breaking of inversion symmetry by a perpendicular electric field that is in situtunable between zero and several hundred meV (corresponding to wavelengths in the mid-IR). Such unique tunability offers bilayer graphene a niche in mid-IR optoelectronic devices where a lack of high performance photodetectors exists. In this work we have performed spatially and temporally resolved photocurrent measurements in a dual-gated bilayer graphene FET under continuous-wave and pulsed laser excitation. We find that photocurrent generation in native bilayer graphene is dominated by hot carriers, as is the case in monolayer graphene, but it behaves very differently from monolayer graphene once a bandgap has been opened. Work supported by the NSF Early Career Grant and DARPA N66001-11-1-4124.

  20. Nitrogen-Doping Enables Covalent-Like pi-pi Bonding between Graphenes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tian, Yong-Hui; Huang, Jingsong; Sumpter, Bobby G

    The neighboring layers in bi-layer (and few-layer) graphenes of both AA and AB stacking motifs are known to be separated at a distance corresponding to van der Waals (vdW) interactions. In this Letter, we present for the first time a new aspect of graphene chemistry in terms of a special chemical bonding between the giant graphene molecules . Through rigorous theoretical calculations, we demonstrate that the N-doped graphenes (NGPs) with various doping levels can form an unusual two-dimensional (2D) pi pi bonding in bi-layer NGPs bringing the neighboring NGPs to significantly reduced interlayer separations. The interlayer binding energies can bemore » enhanced by up to 50% compared to the pristine graphene bi-layers that are characterized by only vdW interactions. Such an unusual chemical bonding arises from the pi pi overlap across the vdW gap while the individual layers maintain their in-plane pi-conjugation and are accordingly planar. The existence of the resulting interlayer covalent-like bonding is corroborated by electronic structure calculations and crystal orbital overlap population (COOP) analyses. In NGP-based graphite with the optimal doping level, the NGP layers are uniformly stacked and the 3D bulk exhibits metallic characteristics both in the in-plane and along the stacking directions.« less

  1. Bilayer graphene phonovoltaic-FET: In situ phonon recycling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Melnick, Corey; Kaviany, Massoud

    2017-11-01

    A new heat harvester, the phonovoltaic (pV) cell, was recently proposed. The device converts optical phonons into power before they become heat. Due to the low entropy of a typical hot optical phonon population, the phonovoltaic can operate at high fractions of the Carnot limit and harvest heat more efficiently than conventional heat harvesting technologies such as the thermoelectric generator. Previously, the optical phonon source was presumed to produce optical phonons with a single polarization and momentum. Here, we examine a realistic optical phonon source in a potential pV application and the effects this has on pV operation. Supplementing this work is our investigation of bilayer graphene as a new pV material. Our ab initio calculations show that bilayer graphene has a figure of merit exceeding 0.9, well above previously investigated materials. This allows a room-temperature pV to recycle 65% of a highly nonequilibrium, minimum entropy population of phonons. However, full-band Monte Carlo simulations of the electron and phonon dynamics in a bilayer graphene field-effect transistor (FET) show that the optical phonons emitted by field-accelerated electrons can only be recycled in situ with an efficiency of 50%, and this efficiency falls as the field strength grows. Still, an appropriately designed FET-pV can recycle the phonons produced therein in situ with a much higher efficiency than a thermoelectric generator can harvest heat produced by a FET ex situ.

  2. Gap state analysis in electric-field-induced band gap for bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Kanayama, Kaoru; Nagashio, Kosuke

    2015-10-29

    The origin of the low current on/off ratio at room temperature in dual-gated bilayer graphene field-effect transistors is considered to be the variable range hopping in gap states. However, the quantitative estimation of gap states has not been conducted. Here, we report the systematic estimation of the energy gap by both quantum capacitance and transport measurements and the density of states for gap states by the conductance method. An energy gap of ~ 250 meV is obtained at the maximum displacement field of ~ 3.1 V/nm, where the current on/off ratio of ~ 3 × 10(3) is demonstrated at 20 K. The density of states for the gap states are in the range from the latter half of 10(12) to 10(13) eV(-1) cm(-2). Although the large amount of gap states at the interface of high-k oxide/bilayer graphene limits the current on/off ratio at present, our results suggest that the reduction of gap states below ~ 10(11) eV(-1) cm(-2) by continual improvement of the gate stack makes bilayer graphene a promising candidate for future nanoelectronic device applications.

  3. Topological Valley Transport at Bilayer Graphene Domain Walls

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-04-22

    2015. Published online 22 April 2015. 1. McCann, E. Asymmetry gap in the electronic band structure of bilayer graphene . Phys. Rev. B 74, 161403 (2006...6. Yao, W., Yang, S. A. & Niu, Q. Edge states in graphene : from gapped flat- band to gapless chiral modes. Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 096801 (2009). 7...induced in bilayer graphene by an external electric field1–5, and such gapped bilayer graphene is predicted to be a topo- logical insulating phase

  4. Reversible loss of Bernal stacking during the deformation of few-layer graphene in nanocomposites.

    PubMed

    Gong, Lei; Young, Robert J; Kinloch, Ian A; Haigh, Sarah J; Warner, Jamie H; Hinks, Jonathan A; Xu, Ziwei; Li, Li; Ding, Feng; Riaz, Ibtsam; Jalil, Rashid; Novoselov, Kostya S

    2013-08-27

    The deformation of nanocomposites containing graphene flakes with different numbers of layers has been investigated with the use of Raman spectroscopy. It has been found that there is a shift of the 2D band to lower wavenumber and that the rate of band shift per unit strain tends to decrease as the number of graphene layers increases. It has been demonstrated that band broadening takes place during tensile deformation for mono- and bilayer graphene but that band narrowing occurs when the number of graphene layers is more than two. It is also found that the characteristic asymmetric shape of the 2D Raman band for the graphene with three or more layers changes to a symmetrical shape above about 0.4% strain and that it reverts to an asymmetric shape on unloading. This change in Raman band shape and width has been interpreted as being due to a reversible loss of Bernal stacking in the few-layer graphene during deformation. It has been shown that the elastic strain energy released from the unloading of the inner graphene layers in the few-layer material (~0.2 meV/atom) is similar to the accepted value of the stacking fault energies of graphite and few layer graphene. It is further shown that this loss of Bernal stacking can be accommodated by the formation of arrays of partial dislocations and stacking faults on the basal plane. The effect of the reversible loss of Bernal stacking upon the electronic structure of few-layer graphene and the possibility of using it to modify the electronic structure of few-layer graphene are discussed.

  5. Reversible Loss of Bernal Stacking during the Deformation of Few-Layer Graphene in Nanocomposites

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    The deformation of nanocomposites containing graphene flakes with different numbers of layers has been investigated with the use of Raman spectroscopy. It has been found that there is a shift of the 2D band to lower wavenumber and that the rate of band shift per unit strain tends to decrease as the number of graphene layers increases. It has been demonstrated that band broadening takes place during tensile deformation for mono- and bilayer graphene but that band narrowing occurs when the number of graphene layers is more than two. It is also found that the characteristic asymmetric shape of the 2D Raman band for the graphene with three or more layers changes to a symmetrical shape above about 0.4% strain and that it reverts to an asymmetric shape on unloading. This change in Raman band shape and width has been interpreted as being due to a reversible loss of Bernal stacking in the few-layer graphene during deformation. It has been shown that the elastic strain energy released from the unloading of the inner graphene layers in the few-layer material (∼0.2 meV/atom) is similar to the accepted value of the stacking fault energies of graphite and few layer graphene. It is further shown that this loss of Bernal stacking can be accommodated by the formation of arrays of partial dislocations and stacking faults on the basal plane. The effect of the reversible loss of Bernal stacking upon the electronic structure of few-layer graphene and the possibility of using it to modify the electronic structure of few-layer graphene are discussed. PMID:23899378

  6. Unfolding energy spectra of double-periodicity two-dimensional systems: Twisted bilayer graphene and MoS2 on graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsushita, Yu-ichiro; Nishi, Hirofumi; Iwata, Jun-ichi; Kosugi, Taichi; Oshiyama, Atsushi

    2018-01-01

    We propose an unfolding scheme to analyze energy spectra of complex large-scale systems which are inherently of double periodicity on the basis of the density-functional theory. Applying our method to a twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) and a stack of monolayer MoS2 on graphene (MoS2/graphene) as examples, we first show that the conventional unfolding scheme in the past using a single primitive-cell representation causes serious problems in analyses of the energy spectra. We then introduce our multispace representation scheme in the unfolding method and clarify its validity. Velocity renormalization of Dirac electrons in tBLG and mini gaps of Dirac cones in MoS2/graphene are elucidated in the present unfolding scheme.

  7. Effects of doping and bias voltage on the screening in AAA-stacked trilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mohammadi, Yawar; Moradian, Rostam; Shirzadi Tabar, Farzad

    2014-09-01

    We calculate the static polarization of AAA-stacked trilayer graphene (TLG) and study its screening properties within the random phase approximation (RPA) in all undoped, doped and biased regimes. We find that the static polarization of undoped AAA-stacked TLG is a combination of the doped and undoped single-layer graphene static polarization. This leads to an enhancement of the dielectric background constant along a Thomas-Fermi screening with the Thomas-Fermi wave vector which is independent of carrier concentrations and a 1/r3 power law decay for the long-distance behavior of the screened Coulomb potential. We show that effects of a bias voltage can be taken into account by a renormalization of the interlayer hopping energy to a new bias-voltage-dependent value, indicating screening properties of AAA-stacked TLG can be tuned electrically. We also find that screening properties of doped AAA-stacked TLG, when μ exceeds √{2}γ, are similar to that of doped SLG only depending on doping. While for μ<√{2}γ, its screening properties are combination of SLG and AA-stacked bilayer graphene screening properties and they are determined by doping and the interlayer hopping energy.

  8. Atomistic mechanisms for bilayer growth of graphene on metal substrates

    DOE PAGES

    Chen, Wei; Cui, Ping; Zhu, Wenguang; ...

    2015-01-08

    Epitaxial growth on metal substrates has been shown to be the most powerful approach in producing large-scale high-quality monolayer graphene, yet it remains a major challenge to realize uniform bilayer graphene growth. Here we carry out a comparative study of the atomistic mechanisms for bilayer graphene growth on the (111) surfaces of Cu and Ni, using multiscale approaches combining first-principles calculations and rate-equation analysis. We first show that the relatively weak graphene-Cu interaction enhances the lateral diffusion and effective nucleation of C atoms underneath the graphene island, thereby making it more feasible to grow bilayer graphene on Cu. In contrast,more » the stronger graphene-Ni interaction suppresses the lateral mobility and dimerization of C atoms underneath the graphene, making it unlikely to achieve controlled growth of bilayer graphene on Ni. We then determine the critical graphene size beyond which nucleation of the second layer will take place. Intriguingly, the critical size exhibits an effective inverse "Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier" effect, becoming smaller for faster C migration from the Cu surface to the graphene-Cu interface sites across the graphene edge. Lastly, these findings allow us to propose a novel alternating growth scheme to realize mass production of bilayer graphene.« less

  9. Fabrication and ab initio study of downscaled graphene nanoelectronic devices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mizuta, Hiroshi; Moktadir, Zakaria; Boden, Stuart A.; Kalhor, Nima; Hang, Shuojin; Schmidt, Marek E.; Cuong, Nguyen Tien; Chi, Dam Hieu; Otsuka, Nobuo; Muruganathan, Manoharan; Tsuchiya, Yoshishige; Chong, Harold; Rutt, Harvey N.; Bagnall, Darren M.

    2012-09-01

    In this paper we first present a new fabrication process of downscaled graphene nanodevices based on direct milling of graphene using an atomic-size helium ion beam. We address the issue of contamination caused by the electron-beam lithography process to pattern the contact metals prior to the ultrafine milling process in the helium ion microscope (HIM). We then present our recent experimental study of the effects of the helium ion exposure on the carrier transport properties. By varying the time of helium ion bombardment onto a bilayer graphene nanoribbon transistor, the change in the transfer characteristics is investigated along with underlying carrier scattering mechanisms. Finally we study the effects of various single defects introduced into extremely-scaled armchair graphene nanoribbons on the carrier transport properties using ab initio simulation.

  10. Self-consistent perturbation theory for two dimensional twisted bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shirodkar, Sharmila N.; Tritsaris, Georgios A.; Kaxiras, Efthimios

    Theoretical modeling and ab-initio simulations of two dimensional heterostructures with arbitrary angles of rotation between layers involve unrealistically large and expensive calculations. To overcome this shortcoming, we develop a methodology for weakly interacting heterostructures that treats the effect of one layer on the other as perturbation, and restricts the calculations to their primitive cells. Thus, avoiding computationally expensive supercells. We start by approximating the interaction potential between the twisted bilayers to that of a hypothetical configuration (viz. ideally stacked untwisted layers), which produces band structures in reasonable agreement with full-scale ab-initio calculations for commensurate and twisted bilayers of graphene (Gr) and Gr/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) heterostructures. We then self-consistently calculate the charge density and hence, interaction potential of the heterostructures. In this work, we test our model for bilayers of various combinations of Gr, h-BN and transition metal dichalcogenides, and discuss the advantages and shortcomings of the self-consistently calculated interaction potential. Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.

  11. Transition metal intercalated bilayer silicene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pandey, Dhanshree; Kamal, C.; Chakrabarti, Aparna

    2018-04-01

    We investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of Mn, Fe and Co-intercalated silicene bilayer with AA and AB stacking by using spin polarized density functional theory. The intercalation of Mn increases the gap between the two layers of silicene due to the larger atomic radii of Mn as compared to Fe and Co. Bader charge analysis has been performed to understand the bonding between the TM and Si atoms. This also helps in explaining the magnetic moment possessed by the composite systems after intercalating TM in between the layers of bilayer silicene system. This study reveals that a significant net magnetic moment is observed in cases of Mn-intercalated silicene bilayers, whereas Fe has a very small moment of 0.78 µB in the case of AA stacking configuration only. Co intercalation leads to net zero magnetic moment. Further, we find that Fe and Co marginally favor the AB stacking whereas Mn has a slight preference of the AA over the AB configuration. The composite systems, specifically when intercalated with Fe and Co atoms, favor a hybridization which is far away from sp3-like hybridization along the plane of Si atoms in bilayer silicene.

  12. Chiral tunneling in a twisted graphene bilayer.

    PubMed

    He, Wen-Yu; Chu, Zhao-Dong; He, Lin

    2013-08-09

    The perfect transmission in a graphene monolayer and the perfect reflection in a Bernal graphene bilayer for electrons incident in the normal direction of a potential barrier are viewed as two incarnations of the Klein paradox. Here we show a new and unique incarnation of the Klein paradox. Owing to the different chiralities of the quasiparticles involved, the chiral fermions in a twisted graphene bilayer show an adjustable probability of chiral tunneling for normal incidence: they can be changed from perfect tunneling to partial or perfect reflection, or vice versa, by controlling either the height of the barrier or the incident energy. As well as addressing basic physics about how the chiral fermions with different chiralities tunnel through a barrier, our results provide a facile route to tune the electronic properties of the twisted graphene bilayer.

  13. Twisting dirac fermions: circular dichroism in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suárez Morell, E.; Chico, Leonor; Brey, Luis

    2017-09-01

    Twisted bilayer graphene is a chiral system which has been recently shown to present circular dichroism. In this work we show that the origin of this optical activity is the rotation of the Dirac fermions’ helicities in the top and bottom layer. Starting from the Kubo formula, we obtain a compact expression for the Hall conductivity that takes into account the dephasing of the electromagnetic field between the top and bottom layers and gathers all the symmetries of the system. Our results are based in both a continuum and a tight-binding model, and they can be generalized to any two-dimensional Dirac material with a chiral stacking between layers.

  14. Mechanical properties of hydrogenated bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Andrew, R. C.; Mapasha, R. E.; Chetty, N.

    2013-06-01

    Using first principle methods, we study the mechanical properties of monolayer and bilayer graphene with 50% and 100% coverage of hydrogen. We employ the vdW-DF, vdW-DF-C09x, and vdW-DF2-C09x van der Waals functionals for the exchange correlation interactions that give significantly improved interlayer spacings and energies. We also use the PBE form for the generalized gradient corrected exchange correlation functional for comparison. We present a consistent theoretical framework for the in-plane layer modulus and the out-of-plane interlayer modulus and we calculate, for the first time, these properties for these systems. This gives a measure of the change of the strength properties when monolayer and bilayer graphene are hydrogenated. Moreover, comparing the relative performance of these functionals in describing hydrogenated bilayered graphenes, we also benchmark these functionals in how they calculate the properties of graphite.

  15. Controlling the layer localization of gapless states in bilayer graphene with a gate voltage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jaskólski, W.; Pelc, M.; Bryant, Garnett W.; Chico, Leonor; Ayuela, A.

    2018-04-01

    Experiments in gated bilayer graphene with stacking domain walls present topological gapless states protected by no-valley mixing. Here we research these states under gate voltages using atomistic models, which allow us to elucidate their origin. We find that the gate potential controls the layer localization of the two states, which switches non-trivially between layers depending on the applied gate voltage magnitude. We also show how these bilayer gapless states arise from bands of single-layer graphene by analyzing the formation of carbon bonds between layers. Based on this analysis we provide a model Hamiltonian with analytical solutions, which explains the layer localization as a function of the ratio between the applied potential and interlayer hopping. Our results open a route for the manipulation of gapless states in electronic devices, analogous to the proposed writing and reading memories in topological insulators.

  16. Polarized micro Raman spectroscopy of bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moon, Hyerim; Yoon, Duhee; Son, Young-Woo; Cheong, Hyeonsik

    2009-03-01

    The frequency of Raman 2D band of the graphite depends on the excitation laser energy. This phenomenon is explained with double resonance Raman process. In polarized micro-Raman spectroscopy of single layer graphene, Raman G band (˜1586 cm-1) is isotropic, and 2D band (˜2686 cm-1) strongly depends on relative polarizations of the incident and scattered photons. This strong polarization dependence originates from inhomogeneous optical absorption and emission mediated by resonant electron-phonon interaction. In bi-layer graphene, Raman 2D band can be decomposed into four Lorenztian peaks which can be interpreted in terms of the four transition paths in the double resonance Raman process. We investigated the polarization dependence of each Lorenztian peak in the Raman 2D band of bi-layer graphene for different excitation laser energies. Strong polarization dependence of the Raman 2D band, similar to the case of single layer graphene, is observed. The excitation energy dependence of the polarized Raman scattering is analyzed in terms of the band structure of bi-layer graphene.

  17. Selectively enhanced photocurrent generation in twisted bilayer graphene with van Hove singularity

    PubMed Central

    Yin, Jianbo; Wang, Huan; Peng, Han; Tan, Zhenjun; Liao, Lei; Lin, Li; Sun, Xiao; Koh, Ai Leen; Chen, Yulin; Peng, Hailin; Liu, Zhongfan

    2016-01-01

    Graphene with ultra-high carrier mobility and ultra-short photoresponse time has shown remarkable potential in ultrafast photodetection. However, the broad and weak optical absorption (∼2.3%) of monolayer graphene hinders its practical application in photodetectors with high responsivity and selectivity. Here we demonstrate that twisted bilayer graphene, a stack of two graphene monolayers with an interlayer twist angle, exhibits a strong light–matter interaction and selectively enhanced photocurrent generation. Such enhancement is attributed to the emergence of unique twist-angle-dependent van Hove singularities, which are directly revealed by spatially resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. When the energy interval between the van Hove singularities of the conduction and valance bands matches the energy of incident photons, the photocurrent generated can be significantly enhanced (up to ∼80 times with the integration of plasmonic structures in our devices). These results provide valuable insight for designing graphene photodetectors with enhanced sensitivity for variable wavelength. PMID:26948537

  18. Tunable transport gap in narrow bilayer graphene nanoribbons

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Woo Jong; Duan, Xiangfeng

    2013-01-01

    The lack of a bandgap makes bulk graphene unsuitable for room temperature transistors with a sufficient on/off current ratio. Lateral constriction of charge carriers in graphene nanostructures or vertical inversion symmetry breaking in bilayer graphene are two potential strategies to mitigate this challenge, but each alone is insufficient to consistently achieve a large enough on/off ratio (e.g. > 1000) for typical logic applications. Herein we report the combination of lateral carrier constriction and vertical inversion symmetry breaking in bilayer graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) to tune their transport gaps and improve the on/off ratio. Our studies demonstrate that the on/off current ratio of bilayer GNRs can be systematically increased upon applying a vertical electric field, to achieve a largest on/off current ratio over 3000 at room temperature. PMID:23409239

  19. Wavepacket revivals in monolayer and bilayer graphene rings.

    PubMed

    García, Trinidad; Rodríguez-Bolívar, Salvador; Cordero, Nicolás A; Romera, Elvira

    2013-06-12

    We have studied the existence of quantum revivals in graphene quantum rings within a simplified model. The time evolution of a Gaussian-populated wavepacket shows revivals in monolayer and bilayer graphene rings. We have also studied this behavior for quantum rings in a perpendicular magnetic field. We have found that revival time is an observable that shows different values for monolayer and bilayer graphene quantum rings. In addition, the revival time shows valley degeneracy breaking.

  20. A first-principles study of the electrically tunable band gap in few-layer penta-graphene.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jinjin; Wang, Zhanyu; Zhang, R J; Zheng, Y X; Chen, L Y; Wang, S Y; Tsoo, Chia-Chin; Huang, Hung-Ji; Su, Wan-Sheng

    2018-06-25

    The structural and electronic properties of bilayer (AA- and AB-stacked) and tri-layer (AAA-, ABA- and AAB-stacked) penta-graphene (PG) have been investigated in the framework of density functional theory. The present results demonstrate that the ground state energy in AB stacking is lower than that in AA stacking, whereas ABA stacking is found to be the most energetically favorable, followed by AAB and AAA stackings. All considered model configurations are found to be semiconducting, independent of the stacking sequence. In the presence of a perpendicular electric field, their band gaps can be significantly reduced and completely closed at a specific critical electric field strength, demonstrating a Stark effect. These findings show that few-layer PG will have tremendous opportunities to be applied in nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices owing to its tunable band gap.

  1. Unconventional fractional quantum Hall effect in monolayer and bilayer graphene

    PubMed Central

    Jacak, Janusz; Jacak, Lucjan

    2016-01-01

    The commensurability condition is applied to determine the hierarchy of fractional fillings of Landau levels in monolayer and in bilayer graphene. The filling rates for fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) in graphene are found in the first three Landau levels in one-to-one agreement with the experimental data. The presence of even denominator filling fractions in the hierarchy for FQHE in bilayer graphene is explained. Experimentally observed hierarchy of FQHE in the first and second Landau levels in monolayer graphene and in the zeroth Landau level in bilayer graphene is beyond the conventional composite fermion interpretation but fits to the presented nonlocal topology commensurability condition. PMID:27877866

  2. Electronic compressibility of bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Henriksen, Erik

    2011-03-01

    We have recently measured the electronic compressibility of bilayer graphene, allowing exploration of the thermodynamic density of states as a function of applied electric and magnetic fields. Utilizing dual-gated field-effect devices, we can independently vary both the carrier density and the size of the tunable band gap. An oscillating voltage applied to a back gate generates corresponding signals in the top gate via electric fields lines which penetrate the graphene, thereby allowing a direct measurement of the inverse compressibility, K-1 , of the bilayer. We have mapped K-1 , which is proportional to the inverse density of states, as a function of the top and back gate voltages in zero and finite magnetic field. A sharp increase in K-1 near zero density is observed with increasing electric field strength, signaling the controlled opening of a band gap. At high magnetic fields, broad Landau level (LL) oscillations are observed, directly revealing the doubled degeneracy of the lowest LL and allowing for a determination of the disorder broadening of the levels. We compare our results to tight-binding calculations of the bilayer band structure, and to recent theoretical studies of the compressibility of bilayer graphene. Together, these clearly illustrate the unusual hyperbolic nature of the low energy band structure, reveal a sizeable electron-hole asymmetry, and suggest that many-body interactions play only a small role in bilayer-on-substrate devices. This work is a collaboration with J. P. Eisenstein of Caltech, and is supported by the NSF under Grant No. DMR-0552270 and the DOE under Grant No. DE-FG03-99ER45766.

  3. Real-Space Imaging of the Tailored Plasmons in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, F.; Das, Suprem R.; Luan, Y.; Chung, T.-F.; Chen, Y. P.; Fei, Z.

    2017-12-01

    We report a systematic plasmonic study of twisted bilayer graphene (TBLG)—two graphene layers stacked with a twist angle. Through real-space nanoimaging of TBLG single crystals with a wide distribution of twist angles, we find that TBLG supports confined infrared plasmons that are sensitively dependent on the twist angle. At small twist angles, TBLG has a plasmon wavelength comparable to that of single-layer graphene. At larger twist angles, the plasmon wavelength of TBLG increases significantly with apparently lower damping. Further analysis and modeling indicate that the observed twist-angle dependence of TBLG plasmons in the Dirac linear regime is mainly due to the Fermi-velocity renormalization, a direct consequence of interlayer electronic coupling. Our work unveils the tailored plasmonic characteristics of TBLG and deepens our understanding of the intriguing nano-optical physics in novel van der Waals coupled two-dimensional materials.

  4. Real-Space Imaging of the Tailored Plasmons in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hu, F.; Das, Suprem R.; Luan, Y.

    Here, we report a systematic plasmonic study of twisted bilayer graphene (TBLG)—two graphene layers stacked with a twist angle. Through real-space nanoimaging of TBLG single crystals with a wide distribution of twist angles, we find that TBLG supports confined infrared plasmons that are sensitively dependent on the twist angle. At small twist angles, TBLG has a plasmon wavelength comparable to that of single-layer graphene. At larger twist angles, the plasmon wavelength of TBLG increases significantly with apparently lower damping. Further analysis and modeling indicate that the observed twist-angle dependence of TBLG plasmons in the Dirac linear regime is mainly duemore » to the Fermi-velocity renormalization, a direct consequence of interlayer electronic coupling. Our work unveils the tailored plasmonic characteristics of TBLG and deepens our understanding of the intriguing nano-optical physics in novel van der Waals coupled two-dimensional materials.« less

  5. Real-Space Imaging of the Tailored Plasmons in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

    DOE PAGES

    Hu, F.; Das, Suprem R.; Luan, Y.; ...

    2017-12-13

    Here, we report a systematic plasmonic study of twisted bilayer graphene (TBLG)—two graphene layers stacked with a twist angle. Through real-space nanoimaging of TBLG single crystals with a wide distribution of twist angles, we find that TBLG supports confined infrared plasmons that are sensitively dependent on the twist angle. At small twist angles, TBLG has a plasmon wavelength comparable to that of single-layer graphene. At larger twist angles, the plasmon wavelength of TBLG increases significantly with apparently lower damping. Further analysis and modeling indicate that the observed twist-angle dependence of TBLG plasmons in the Dirac linear regime is mainly duemore » to the Fermi-velocity renormalization, a direct consequence of interlayer electronic coupling. Our work unveils the tailored plasmonic characteristics of TBLG and deepens our understanding of the intriguing nano-optical physics in novel van der Waals coupled two-dimensional materials.« less

  6. Bilayered graphene/h-BN with folded holes as new nanoelectronic materials: modeling of structures and electronic properties

    PubMed Central

    Chernozatonskii, Leonid A.; Demin, Viсtor A.; Bellucci, Stefano

    2016-01-01

    The latest achievements in 2-dimensional (2D) material research have shown the perspective use of sandwich structures in nanodevices. We demonstrate the following generation of bilayer materials for electronics and optoelectronics. The atomic structures, the stability and electronic properties of Moiré graphene (G)/h-BN bilayers with folded nanoholes have been investigated theoretically by ab-initio DFT method. These perforated bilayers with folded hole edges may present electronic properties different from the properties of both graphene and monolayer nanomesh structures. The closing of the edges is realized by C-B(N) bonds that form after folding the borders of the holes. Stable ≪round≫ and ≪triangle≫ holes organization are studied and compared with similar hole forms in single layer graphene. The electronic band structures of the considered G/BN nanomeshes reveal semiconducting or metallic characteristics depending on the sizes and edge terminations of the created holes. This investigation of the new types of G/BN nanostructures with folded edges might provide a directional guide for the future of this emerging area. PMID:27897237

  7. Cyclotron resonance in bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Henriksen, E A; Jiang, Z; Tung, L-C; Schwartz, M E; Takita, M; Wang, Y-J; Kim, P; Stormer, H L

    2008-02-29

    We present the first measurements of cyclotron resonance of electrons and holes in bilayer graphene. In magnetic fields up to B=18 T, we observe four distinct intraband transitions in both the conduction and valence bands. The transition energies are roughly linear in B between the lowest Landau levels, whereas they follow square root[B] for the higher transitions. This highly unusual behavior represents a change from a parabolic to a linear energy dispersion. The density of states derived from our data generally agrees with the existing lowest order tight binding calculation for bilayer graphene. However, in comparing data to theory, a single set of fitting parameters fails to describe the experimental results.

  8. Ultrafast lithium diffusion in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kühne, Matthias; Paolucci, Federico; Popovic, Jelena; Ostrovsky, Pavel M.; Maier, Joachim; Smet, Jurgen H.

    2017-09-01

    Solids that simultaneously conduct electrons and ions are key elements for the mass transfer and storage required in battery electrodes. Single-phase materials with a high electronic and high ionic conductivity at room temperature are hard to come by, and therefore multiphase systems with separate ion and electron channels have been put forward instead. Here we report on bilayer graphene as a single-phase mixed conductor that demonstrates Li diffusion faster than in graphite and even surpassing the diffusion of sodium chloride in liquid water. To measure Li diffusion, we have developed an on-chip electrochemical cell architecture in which the redox reaction that forces Li intercalation is localized only at a protrusion of the device so that the graphene bilayer remains unperturbed from the electrolyte during operation. We performed time-dependent Hall measurements across spatially displaced Hall probes to monitor the in-plane Li diffusion kinetics within the graphene bilayer and measured a diffusion coefficient as high as 7 × 10-5 cm2 s-1.

  9. Fano resonances in bilayer graphene superlattices.

    PubMed

    Briones-Torres, J A; Rodríguez-Vargas, I

    2017-12-01

    In this work, we address the ubiquitous phenomenon of Fano resonances in bilayer graphene. We consider that this phenomenon is as exotic as other phenomena in graphene because it can arise without an external extended states source or elaborate nano designs. However, there are not theoretical and/or experimental studies that report the impact of Fano resonances on the transport properties. Here, we carry out a systematic assessment of the contribution of the Fano resonances on the transport properties of bilayer graphene superlattices. Specifically, we find that by changing the number of periods, adjusting the barriers height as well as modifying the barriers and wells width it is possible to identify the contribution of Fano resonances on the conductance. Particularly, the coupling of Fano resonances with the intrinsic minibands of the superlattice gives rise to specific and identifiable changes in the conductance. Moreover, by reducing the angular range for the computation of the transport properties it is possible to obtain conductance curves with line-shapes quite similar to the Fano profile and the coupling profile between Fano resonance and miniband states. In fact, these conductance features could serve as unequivocal characteristic of the existence of Fano resonances in bilayer graphene.

  10. Measurement of the electronic compressibility of bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Henriksen, E. A.; Eisenstein, J. P.

    2010-03-01

    We report on recent measurements of the electronic compressibility in bilayer graphene. The devices consist of a mechanically exfoliated bilayer graphene flake in a dual-gated configuration, having a global back gate from the underlying Si substrate and a lithographically defined top gate. With suitable shielding, an oscillating voltage applied to the back gate will generate corresponding signals in the top gate only via electric fields which penetrate the graphene, thereby allowing a direct measurement of the compressibility of the bilayer [1]. In our experiments, we map this quantity as a function of the back and top gate bias voltages and compare it to similar maps of the graphene sheet resistivity and capacitance. We discuss our results in light of numerical calculations of the underlying band structure as well as recent theoretical predictions. [1] J. P. Eisenstein, L. N. Pfeiffer, K. W. West, Phys. Rev. B 50, 1760 (1994).

  11. DC conductivity of twisted bilayer graphene: Angle-dependent transport properties and effects of disorder

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Andelković, M.; Covaci, L.; Peeters, F. M.

    2018-03-01

    The in-plane dc conductivity of twisted bilayer graphene is calculated using an expansion of the real-space Kubo-Bastin conductivity in terms of Chebyshev polynomials. We investigate within a tight-binding approach the transport properties as a function of rotation angle, applied perpendicular electric field, and vacancy disorder. We find that for high-angle twists, the two layers are effectively decoupled, and the minimum conductivity at the Dirac point corresponds to double the value observed in monolayer graphene. This remains valid even in the presence of vacancies, hinting that chiral symmetry is still preserved. On the contrary, for low twist angles, the conductivity at the Dirac point depends on the twist angle and is not protected in the presence of disorder. Furthermore, for low angles and in the presence of an applied electric field, we find that the chiral boundary states emerging between AB and BA regions contribute to the dc conductivity, despite the appearance of localized states in the AA regions. The results agree qualitatively with recent transport experiments in low-angle twisted bilayer graphene.

  12. Stacking-dependent interlayer coupling in trilayer MoS 2 with broken inversion symmetry

    DOE PAGES

    Yan, Jiaxu; Wang, Xingli; Tay, Beng Kang; ...

    2015-11-13

    The stacking configuration in few-layer two-dimensional (2D) materials results in different structural symmetries and layer-to-layer interactions, and hence it provides a very useful parameter for tuning their electronic properties. For example, ABA-stacking trilayer graphene remains semimetallic similar to that of monolayer, while ABC-stacking is predicted to be a tunable band gap semiconductor under an external electric field. Such stacking dependence resulting from many-body interactions has recently been the focus of intense research activities. Here we demonstrate that few-layer MoS 2 samples grown by chemical vapor deposition with different stacking configurations (AA, AB for bilayer; AAB, ABB, ABA, AAA for trilayer)more » exhibit distinct coupling phenomena in both photoluminescence and Raman spectra. By means of ultralow-frequency (ULF) Raman spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the evolution of interlayer interaction with various stacking configurations correlates strongly with layer-breathing mode (LBM) vibrations. Our ab initio calculations reveal that the layer-dependent properties arise from both the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) and interlayer coupling in different structural symmetries. Lastly, such detailed understanding provides useful guidance for future spintronics fabrication using various stacked few-layer MoS 2 blocks.« less

  13. Stacking-dependent interlayer coupling in trilayer MoS 2 with broken inversion symmetry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yan, Jiaxu; Wang, Xingli; Tay, Beng Kang

    The stacking configuration in few-layer two-dimensional (2D) materials results in different structural symmetries and layer-to-layer interactions, and hence it provides a very useful parameter for tuning their electronic properties. For example, ABA-stacking trilayer graphene remains semimetallic similar to that of monolayer, while ABC-stacking is predicted to be a tunable band gap semiconductor under an external electric field. Such stacking dependence resulting from many-body interactions has recently been the focus of intense research activities. Here we demonstrate that few-layer MoS 2 samples grown by chemical vapor deposition with different stacking configurations (AA, AB for bilayer; AAB, ABB, ABA, AAA for trilayer)more » exhibit distinct coupling phenomena in both photoluminescence and Raman spectra. By means of ultralow-frequency (ULF) Raman spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the evolution of interlayer interaction with various stacking configurations correlates strongly with layer-breathing mode (LBM) vibrations. Our ab initio calculations reveal that the layer-dependent properties arise from both the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) and interlayer coupling in different structural symmetries. Lastly, such detailed understanding provides useful guidance for future spintronics fabrication using various stacked few-layer MoS 2 blocks.« less

  14. Ultrafast Spectral Photoresponse of Bilayer Graphene: Optical Pump-Terahertz Probe Spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Kar, Srabani; Nguyen, Van Luan; Mohapatra, Dipti R; Lee, Young Hee; Sood, A K

    2018-02-27

    Photoinduced terahertz conductivity Δσ(ω) of Bernal stacked bilayer graphene (BLG) with different dopings is measured by time-resolved optical pump terahertz probe spectroscopy. The real part of photoconductivity Δσ(ω) (Δσ Re (ω)) is positive throughout the spectral range 0.5-2.5 THz in low-doped BLG. This is in sharp contrast to Δσ(ω) for high-doped bilayer graphene where Δσ Re (ω) is negative at low frequency and positive on the high frequency side. We use Boltzmann transport theory to understand quantitatively the frequency dependence of Δσ(ω), demanding the energy dependence of different scattering rates such as short-range impurity scattering, Coulomb scattering, carrier-acoustic phonon scattering, and substrate surface optical phonon scattering. We find that the short-range disorder scattering dominates over other processes. The calculated photoconductivity captures very well the experimental conductivity spectra as a function of lattice temperature varying from 300 to 4 K, without any empirical fitting procedures adopted so far in the literature. This helps us to understand the intraband conductivity of photoexcited hot carriers in 2D materials.

  15. Spin heat capacity of monolayer and AB-stacked bilayer MoS2 in the presence of exchange magnetic field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hoi, Bui Dinh; Yarmohammadi, Mohsen; Mirabbaszadeh, Kavoos

    2017-04-01

    Dirac theory and Green's function technique are carried out to compute the spin dependent band structures and corresponding electronic heat capacity (EHC) of monolayer (ML) and AB-stacked bilayer (BL) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) two-dimensional (2D) crystals. We report the influence of induced exchange magnetic field (EMF) by magnetic insulator substrates on these quantities for both structures. The spin-up (down) subband gaps are shifted with EMF from conduction (valence) band to valence (conduction) band at both Dirac points in the ML because of the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) which leads to a critical EMF in the K point and EHC returns to its initial states for both spins. In the BL case, EMF results split states and the decrease (increase) behavior of spin-up (down) subband gaps has been observed at both K and K‧ valleys which is due to the combined effect of SOC and interlayer coupling. For low and high EMFs, EHC of BL MoS2 does not change for spin-up subbands while increases for spin-down subbands.

  16. How Bilayer Graphene Got a Bandgap

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Feng Wang

    2009-06-02

    Graphene is the two-dimensional crystalline form of carbon, whose extraordinary electron mobility and other unique features hold great promise for nanoscale electronics and photonics. But theres a catch: graphene has no bandgap. Now Feng Wang and his colleagues at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have engineered a bandgap in bilayer graphene that can be precisely controlled from 0 to 250 milli-electron volts, which is the energy of infrared radiation.

  17. How Bilayer Graphene Got a Bandgap

    ScienceCinema

    Feng Wang

    2017-12-09

    Graphene is the two-dimensional crystalline form of carbon, whose extraordinary electron mobility and other unique features hold great promise for nanoscale electronics and photonics. But theres a catch: graphene has no bandgap. Now Feng Wang and his colleagues at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have engineered a bandgap in bilayer graphene that can be precisely controlled from 0 to 250 milli-electron volts, which is the energy of infrared radiation.

  18. How Bilayer Graphene Got a Bandgap

    ScienceCinema

    Wang, Feng

    2018-01-08

    Graphene is the two-dimensional crystalline form of carbon, whose extraordinary electron mobility and other unique features hold great promise for nanoscale electronics and photonics. But theres a catch: graphene has no bandgap. Now Feng Wang and his colleagues at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have engineered a bandgap in bilayer graphene that can be precisely controlled from 0 to 250 milli-electron volts, which is the energy of infrared radiation.

  19. Flexural phonon limited phonon drag thermopower in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ansari, Mohd Meenhaz; Ashraf, SSZ

    2018-05-01

    We investigate the phonon drag thermopower from flexural phonons as a function of electron temperature and carrier concentration in the Bloch-Gruneisen regime in non-strained bilayer graphene using Boltzmann transport equation approach. The flexural phonons are expected to be the major source of intrinsic scattering mechanism in unstrained bilayer graphene due to their large density. The flexural phonon modes dispersion relation is quadratic so these low energy flexural phonons abound at room temperature and as a result deform the bilayer graphene sheet in the out of plane direction and affects the transport properties. We also produce analytical result for phonon-drag thermopower from flexural phonons and find that phonon-drag thermopower depicts T2 dependence on temperature and n-1 on carrier concentration.

  20. Tunneling Spectroscopy of Quantum Hall States in Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Ke; Harzheim, Achim; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Kim, Philip

    In the quantum Hall (QH) regime, ballistic conducting paths along the physical edges of a sample appear, leading to quantized Hall conductance and vanishing longitudinal magnetoconductance. These QH edge states are often described as ballistic compressible strips separated by insulating incompressible strips, the spatial profiles of which can be crucial in understanding the stability and emergence of interaction driven QH states. In this work, we present tunneling transport between two QH edge states in bilayer graphene. Employing locally gated device structure, we guide and control the separation between the QH edge states in bilayer graphene. Using resonant Landau level tunneling as a spectroscopy tool, we measure the energy gap in bilayer graphene as a function of displacement field and probe the emergence and evolution of incompressible strips.

  1. Effect of stacking order on device performance of bilayer black phosphorene-field-effect transistor

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mukhopadhyay, A., E-mail: arnabm.electinstru@gmail.com; Banerjee, L.; Sengupta, A.

    We investigate the effect of stacking order of bilayer black phosphorene on the device properties of p-MOSFET and n-MOSFET. Two layers of black phosphorus are stacked in three different orders and are used as channel material in both n-MOSFET and p-MOSFET devices. The effects of different stacking orders on electron and hole effective masses and output characteristics of MOSFETs, such as ON currents, ON/OFF ratio, and transconductance are analyzed. Our results show that about 1.37 times and 1.49 times increase in ON current is possible along armchair and zigzag directions, respectively, 55.11% variation in transconductance is possible along armchair direction,more » by changing stacking orders (AA, AB, and AC) and about 8 times increase in ON current is achievable by changing channel orientation (armchair or zigzag) in p-MOSFET. About 14.8 mV/V drain induced barrier lowering is observed for both p-MOSFET and n-MOSFET, which signifies good immunity to short channel effects.« less

  2. Electronic transport of bilayer graphene with asymmetry line defects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Xiao-Ming; Wu, Ya-Jie; Chen, Chan; Liang, Ying; Kou, Su-Peng

    2016-11-01

    In this paper, we study the quantum properties of a bilayer graphene with (asymmetry) line defects. The localized states are found around the line defects. Thus, the line defects on one certain layer of the bilayer graphene can lead to an electric transport channel. By adding a bias potential along the direction of the line defects, we calculate the electric conductivity of bilayer graphene with line defects using the Landauer-Büttiker theory, and show that the channel affects the electric conductivity remarkably by comparing the results with those in a perfect bilayer graphene. This one-dimensional line electric channel has the potential to be applied in nanotechnology engineering. Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant Nos. 2011CB921803 and 2012CB921704), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11174035, 11474025, 11504285, and 11404090), the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education, China, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China, the Scientific Research Program Fund of the Shaanxi Provincial Education Department, China (Grant No. 15JK1363), and the Young Talent Fund of University Association for Science and Technology in Shaanxi Province, China.

  3. Toward tunable band gap and tunable dirac point in bilayer graphene with molecular doping.

    PubMed

    Yu, Woo Jong; Liao, Lei; Chae, Sang Hoon; Lee, Young Hee; Duan, Xiangfeng

    2011-11-09

    The bilayer graphene has attracted considerable attention for potential applications in future electronics and optoelectronics because of the feasibility to tune its band gap with a vertical displacement field to break the inversion symmetry. Surface chemical doping in bilayer graphene can induce an additional offset voltage to fundamentally affect the vertical displacement field and the band gap opening in bilayer graphene. In this study, we investigate the effect of chemical molecular doping on band gap opening in bilayer graphene devices with single or dual gate modulation. Chemical doping with benzyl viologen molecules modulates the displacement field to allow the opening of a transport band gap and the increase of the on/off ratio in the bilayer graphene transistors. Additionally, Fermi energy level in the opened gap can be rationally controlled by the amount of molecular doping to obtain bilayer graphene transistors with tunable Dirac points, which can be readily configured into functional devices, such as complementary inverters.

  4. Ab initio study of point defects near stacking faults in 3C-SiC

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xi, Jianqi; Liu, Bin; Zhang, Yanwen

    Interactions between point defects and stacking faults in 3C-SiC are studied using an ab initio method based on density functional theory. The results show that the discontinuity of the stacking sequence considerably affects the configurations and behavior of intrinsic defects, especially in the case of silicon interstitials. The existence of an intrinsic stacking fault (missing a C-Si bilayer) shortens the distance between the tetrahedral-center site and its second-nearest-neighboring silicon layer, making the tetrahedral silicon interstitial unstable. Instead of a tetrahedral configuration with four C neighbors, a pyramid-like interstitial structure with a defect state within the band gap becomes a stablemore » configuration. In addition, orientation rotation occurs in the split interstitials that has diverse effects on the energy landscape of silicon and carbon split interstitials in the stacking fault region. Moreover, our analyses of ionic relaxation and electronic structure of vacancies show that the built-in strain field, owing to the existence of the stacking fault, makes the local environment around vacancies more complex than that in the bulk.« less

  5. Ab initio study of point defects near stacking faults in 3C-SiC

    DOE PAGES

    Xi, Jianqi; Liu, Bin; Zhang, Yanwen; ...

    2016-07-02

    Interactions between point defects and stacking faults in 3C-SiC are studied using an ab initio method based on density functional theory. The results show that the discontinuity of the stacking sequence considerably affects the configurations and behavior of intrinsic defects, especially in the case of silicon interstitials. The existence of an intrinsic stacking fault (missing a C-Si bilayer) shortens the distance between the tetrahedral-center site and its second-nearest-neighboring silicon layer, making the tetrahedral silicon interstitial unstable. Instead of a tetrahedral configuration with four C neighbors, a pyramid-like interstitial structure with a defect state within the band gap becomes a stablemore » configuration. In addition, orientation rotation occurs in the split interstitials that has diverse effects on the energy landscape of silicon and carbon split interstitials in the stacking fault region. Moreover, our analyses of ionic relaxation and electronic structure of vacancies show that the built-in strain field, owing to the existence of the stacking fault, makes the local environment around vacancies more complex than that in the bulk.« less

  6. Enhanced sensitivity of a microfabricated resonator using a graphene-polystyrene bilayer membrane

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yun, Minhyuk; Lee, Eunho; Cho, Kilwon

    2014-08-18

    A graphene layer was synthesized using chemical vapor deposition methods and a polystyrene solution was spin-cast onto the graphene film. The graphene-polystyrene bilayer membrane was attached between the two tines of a microfabricated quartz tuning fork (QTF). The modulus of the graphene-polystyrene bilayer was measured to be twice that of a pristine polystyrene membrane. Exposure of the membrane-coated QTF to ethanol vapor decreased the resonance frequency of the microresonator. The bilayer membrane-coated QTF produced a frequency change that was three times the change obtained using a polystyrene membrane-coated QTF, with a lower degree of degradation in the Q factor. Themore » limit of detection of the bilayer membrane-coated QTF to ethanol vapor was determined to be 20 ppm.« less

  7. Optically induced Lifshitz transition in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Iorsh, I. V.; Dini, K.; Kibis, O. V.; Shelykh, I. A.

    2017-10-01

    It is shown theoretically that the renormalization of the electron energy spectrum of bilayer graphene with a strong high-frequency electromagnetic field (dressing field) results in the Lifshitz transition—the abrupt change in the topology of the Fermi surface near the band edge. This effect substantially depends on the polarization of the field: The linearly polarized dressing field induces the Lifshitz transition from the quadruply connected Fermi surface to the doubly connected one, whereas the circularly polarized field induces the multicritical point where the four different Fermi topologies may coexist. As a consequence, the discussed phenomenon creates a physical basis to control the electronic properties of bilayer graphene with light.

  8. Synthesis and electrical characterization of magnetic bilayer graphene intercalate.

    PubMed

    Kim, Namdong; Kim, Kwang S; Jung, Naeyoung; Brus, Louis; Kim, Philip

    2011-02-09

    We report synthesis and transport properties of the minimal graphite intercalation compound, a ferric chloride (FeCl(3))(n) island monolayer inside bilayer graphene. Chemical doping by the intercalant is simultaneously probed by micro-Raman spectroscopy and Hall measurements. Quantum oscillations of conductivity originate from microscopic domains of intercalated and unintercalated regions. A slight upturn in resistance related to magnetic transition is observed. Two-dimensional intercalation in bilayer graphene opens new possibilities to engineer two-dimensional properties of intercalates.

  9. Band gap modulation of mono and bi-layer hexagonal ZnS under transverse electric field and bi-axial strain: A first principles study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rai, D. P.; Kaur, Sumandeep; Srivastava, Sunita

    2018-02-01

    Density functional theory has been employed to study the electronic and mechanical properties of the monolayer and bilayer ZnS. AB stacked ZnS bilayer is found to be energetically more favorable over the AA stacked ZnS bilayer. The electronic bandgap decreases on moving from monolayer to bilayer. Application of positive transverse electric field in AA/AB stacked bilayers leads to a semiconductor to metal transition at 1.10 V/Å. Reversed polarity of electric field, on the other hand, leads to an asymmetric behavior of the bandgap for AB stacking while the behavior of the bandgap in AA stacking is polarity independent. The strong dependency of bandgap on polarity of electric field in AB stacked ZnS bilayer is due to the balancing of external field with the induced internal field which arises due the electronegativity and heterogeneity in the arrangements of atoms. The electronic structure varies with the variation of applied biaxial strain (compression/tensile). We report an increase in band gap in both single and double layers under compression up to -8.0%, which can be attributed to greater superposition of atomic orbitals (Zn-d and S-p hybridization). We expect that our results may stimulate more theoretical and experimental work on hexagonal multi-layers of ZnS employing external field (temperature, pressure, field etc.) for future applications of our present work.

  10. Electrostatically confined quantum rings in bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Zarenia, M; Pereira, J M; Peeters, F M; Farias, G A

    2009-12-01

    We propose a new system where electron and hole states are electrostatically confined into a quantum ring in bilayer graphene. These structures can be created by tuning the gap of the graphene bilayer using nanostructured gates or by position-dependent doping. The energy levels have a magnetic field (B(0)) dependence that is strikingly distinct from that of usual semiconductor quantum rings. In particular, the eigenvalues are not invariant under a B(0) --> -B(0) transformation and, for a fixed total angular momentum index m, their field dependence is not parabolic, but displays two minima separated by a saddle point. The spectra also display several anticrossings, which arise due to the overlap of gate-confined and magnetically confined states.

  11. Adsorption and magnetism of bilayer graphene on the MnO polar surface with oxygen vacancies in the interface: First principles study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ilyasov, Victor V.; Ershov, Igor V.; Popova, Inna G.; Pham, Khang D.; Nguyen, Chuong V.

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, we investigate systematically the structural, electronic, magnetic and adsorption properties of Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene on MnO(111) surface terminated by an oxygen atom, as a function of nonstoichiometric composition of the BLG/MnOx(111) interface. For additional functionalization of the BLG/MnOx(111) system, we also studied the adsorption properties of oxygen adsorbed on the BLG/MnOx(111) interface. Our results showed that the BLG is bound to the MnOx(111) substrate by the weak interaction for both spin-up and spin-down. Furthermore, we found that BLG adsorbed on the MnOx(111) substrate with a reduced oxygen symmetry in the interface is accompanied with a downshift of the Fermi level, which identifies the band structure of BLG as a p-type semiconductor. Upon interaction between BLG and MnOx(111) substrate, a forbidden gap of about 350 meV was opened between its bonding and antibonding π bands. A forbidden gap and the local magnetic moments in bilayer graphene can be controlled by changing the oxygen nonstoichometry or by oxygen adsorption. Additionally, magnetism has been predicted in the bilayer graphene adsorbed on the polar MnOx(111) surface with oxygen vacancies in the BLG/MnOx(111) interface, and its nature has also been discussed in this work. These results showed that the adsorption of bilayer graphene on the MnO(111) substrate can be used for developing novel generation of electronic and spintronic devices.

  12. Self-assembled PCBM bilayers on graphene and HOPG examined by AFM and STM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yanlong; Chen, Chuanhui; Burton, John; Park, Kyungwha; Heflin, James R.; Tao, Chenggang

    2018-05-01

    In this work we report fabrication and characterization of phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) bilayer structures on graphene and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). Through careful control of the PCBM solution concentration (from 0.1 to 2 mg ml-1) and the deposition conditions, we demonstrate that PCBM molecules self-assemble into bilayer structures on graphene and HOPG substrates. Interestingly, the PCBM bilayers are formed with two distinct heights on HOPG, but only one unique representative height on graphene. At elevated annealing temperatures, edge diffusion allows neighboring vacancies to merge into a more ordered structure. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first experimental realization of PCBM bilayer structures on graphene. This work could provide valuable insight into fabrication of new hybrid, ordered structures for applications to organic solar cells.

  13. Self-assembled PCBM bilayers on graphene and HOPG examined by AFM and STM.

    PubMed

    Li, Yanlong; Chen, Chuanhui; Burton, John; Park, Kyungwha; Heflin, James R; Tao, Chenggang

    2018-05-04

    In this work we report fabrication and characterization of phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) bilayer structures on graphene and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). Through careful control of the PCBM solution concentration (from 0.1 to 2 mg ml -1 ) and the deposition conditions, we demonstrate that PCBM molecules self-assemble into bilayer structures on graphene and HOPG substrates. Interestingly, the PCBM bilayers are formed with two distinct heights on HOPG, but only one unique representative height on graphene. At elevated annealing temperatures, edge diffusion allows neighboring vacancies to merge into a more ordered structure. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first experimental realization of PCBM bilayer structures on graphene. This work could provide valuable insight into fabrication of new hybrid, ordered structures for applications to organic solar cells.

  14. Gate-controlled topological conducting channels in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jing; Wang, Ke; McFaul, Kenton J.; Zern, Zachary; Ren, Yafei; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Qiao, Zhenhua; Zhu, Jun

    2016-12-01

    The existence of inequivalent valleys K and K‧ in the momentum space of 2D hexagonal lattices provides a new electronic degree of freedom, the manipulation of which can potentially lead to new types of electronics, analogous to the role played by electron spin. In materials with broken inversion symmetry, such as an electrically gated bilayer graphene (BLG), the momentum-space Berry curvature Ω carries opposite sign in the K and K‧ valleys. A sign reversal of Ω along an internal boundary of the sheet gives rise to counterpropagating 1D conducting modes encoded with opposite-valley indices. These metallic states are topologically protected against backscattering in the absence of valley-mixing scattering, and thus can carry current ballistically. In BLG, the reversal of Ω can occur at the domain wall of AB- and BA-stacked domains, or at the line junction of two oppositely gated regions. The latter approach can provide a scalable platform to implement valleytronic operations, such as valves and waveguides, but it is technically challenging to realize. Here, we fabricate a dual-split-gate structure in BLG and present evidence of the predicted metallic states in electrical transport. The metallic states possess a mean free path (MFP) of up to a few hundred nanometres in the absence of a magnetic field. The application of a perpendicular magnetic field suppresses the backscattering significantly and enables a junction 400 nm in length to exhibit conductance close to the ballistic limit of 4e2/h at 8 T. Our experiment paves the way to the realization of gate-controlled ballistic valley transport and the development of valleytronic applications in atomically thin materials.

  15. Gate-tunable resonant tunneling in double bilayer graphene heterostructures.

    PubMed

    Fallahazad, Babak; Lee, Kayoung; Kang, Sangwoo; Xue, Jiamin; Larentis, Stefano; Corbet, Christopher; Kim, Kyounghwan; Movva, Hema C P; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Register, Leonard F; Banerjee, Sanjay K; Tutuc, Emanuel

    2015-01-14

    We demonstrate gate-tunable resonant tunneling and negative differential resistance in the interlayer current-voltage characteristics of rotationally aligned double bilayer graphene heterostructures separated by hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) dielectric. An analysis of the heterostructure band alignment using individual layer densities, along with experimentally determined layer chemical potentials indicates that the resonance occurs when the energy bands of the two bilayer graphene are aligned. We discuss the tunneling resistance dependence on the interlayer hBN thickness, as well as the resonance width dependence on mobility and rotational alignment.

  16. Anomalous Dirac point transport due to extended defects in bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Shallcross, Sam; Sharma, Sangeeta; Weber, Heiko B

    2017-08-24

    Charge transport at the Dirac point in bilayer graphene exhibits two dramatically different transport states, insulating and metallic, that occur in apparently otherwise indistinguishable experimental samples. We demonstrate that the existence of these two transport states has its origin in an interplay between evanescent modes, that dominate charge transport near the Dirac point, and disordered configurations of extended defects in the form of partial dislocations. In a large ensemble of bilayer systems with randomly positioned partial dislocations, the distribution of conductivities is found to be strongly peaked at both the insulating and metallic limits. We argue that this distribution form, that occurs only at the Dirac point, lies at the heart of the observation of both metallic and insulating states in bilayer graphene.In seemingly indistinguishable bilayer graphene samples, two distinct transport regimes, insulating and metallic, have been identified experimentally. Here, the authors demonstrate that these two states originate from the interplay between extended defects and evanescent modes at the Dirac point.

  17. Strain and curvature induced evolution of electronic band structures in twisted graphene bilayer.

    PubMed

    Yan, Wei; He, Wen-Yu; Chu, Zhao-Dong; Liu, Mengxi; Meng, Lan; Dou, Rui-Fen; Zhang, Yanfeng; Liu, Zhongfan; Nie, Jia-Cai; He, Lin

    2013-01-01

    It is well established that strain and geometry could affect the band structure of graphene monolayer dramatically. Here we study the evolution of local electronic properties of a twisted graphene bilayer induced by a strain and a high curvature, which are found to strongly affect the local band structures of the twisted graphene bilayer. The energy difference of the two low-energy van Hove singularities decreases with increasing lattice deformation and the states condensed into well-defined pseudo-Landau levels, which mimic the quantization of massive chiral fermions in a magnetic field of about 100 T, along a graphene wrinkle. The joint effect of strain and out-of-plane distortion in the graphene wrinkle also results in a valley polarization with a significant gap. These results suggest that strained graphene bilayer could be an ideal platform to realize the high-temperature zero-field quantum valley Hall effect.

  18. Electronic spectrum of trilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, S.; Ajay

    2014-08-01

    Present work deals with the analysis of the single particle electronic spectral function in trilayer (ABC-, ABA- and AAA-stacked) graphene. Tight binding Hamiltonian containing intralayer nearest-neighbor and next-nearest neighbor hopping along-with the interlayer coupling parameter within two triangular sub-lattice approach for trilayer graphene has been employed. The expression of single particle spectral functions A(kw) is obtained within mean-field Green's function equations of motion approach. Spectral function at Γ, M and K points of the Brillouin zone has been numerically computed. It is pointed out that the nature of electronic states at different points of Brillouin zone is found to be influenced by stacking order and Coulomb interactions. At Γ and M points, a trilayer splitting is predicted while at K point a bilayer splitting effect is observed due to crossing of two bands (at K point). Interlayer coupling ( t_{ bot } ) is found to be responsible for the splitting of quasi-particle peaks at each point of Brillouin zone. The influence of t_{ bot } in trilayer graphene is prominent for AAA-stacking compared to ABC- and ABA-stacking. On the other hand, onsite Coulomb interaction reduces the trilayer splitting effect into bilayer splitting at Γ and M points of Brillouin zone and bilayer splitting into single peak spectral function at K point with a shifting of the peak away from Fermi level.

  19. High on/off ratios in bilayer graphene field effect transistors realized by surface dopants.

    PubMed

    Szafranek, B N; Schall, D; Otto, M; Neumaier, D; Kurz, H

    2011-07-13

    The unique property of bilayer graphene to show a band gap tunable by external electrical fields enables a variety of different device concepts with novel functionalities for electronic, optoelectronic, and sensor applications. So far the operation of bilayer graphene-based field effect transistors requires two individual gates to vary the channel's conductance and to create a band gap. In this paper, we report on a method to increase the on/off ratio in single gated bilayer graphene field effect transistors by adsorbate doping. The adsorbate dopants on the upper side of the graphene establish a displacement field perpendicular to the graphene surface breaking the inversion symmetry of the two graphene layers. Low-temperature measurements indicate that the increased on/off ratio is caused by the opening of a mobility gap.

  20. First-principles study on interlayer state in alkali and alkaline earth metal atoms intercalated bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaneko, Tomoaki; Saito, Riichiro

    2017-11-01

    Energetics and electronic structures of alkali metal (Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs) and alkaline earth metal (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba) atoms intercalated bilayer graphene are systematically investigated using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. Formation of alkali and alkaline earth metal atoms intercalated bilayer graphene is exothermic except for Be and Mg. The interlayer state between two graphene layers is occupied for K, Rb, Cs, Ca, Sr, and Ba. We find that the energetic position of the interlayer states between bilayer graphene monotonically shifts downward with increasing of interlayer distance. The interlayer distances of more than 4.5 Å and 4.0 Å, respectively, are necessary for the occupation of the interlayer state in bilayer graphene for alkali and alkaline earth metal atoms, which is almost independent of the intercalant metal species. We discuss the relevance to occurrence of superconductivity for the metal intercalated bilayer graphene in terms of the occupation of the interlayer state and the phonon frequency of metal ions.

  1. Large-Area Growth of Turbostratic Graphene on Ni(111) via Physical Vapor Deposition

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Garlow, Joseph A.; Barrett, Lawrence K.; Wu, Lijun

    Single-layer graphene has demonstrated remarkable electronic properties that are strongly influenced by interfacial bonding and break down for the lowest energy configuration of stacked graphene layers (AB Bernal). Multilayer graphene with relative rotations between carbon layers, known as turbostratic graphene, can effectively decouple the electronic states of adjacent layers, preserving properties similar to that of SLG. While the growth of AB Bernal graphene through chemical vapor deposition has been widely reported, we investigate the growth of turbostratic graphene on heteroepitaxial Ni(111) thin films utilizing physical vapor deposition. By varying the carbon deposition temperature between 800–1100°C, we report an increase inmore » the graphene quality concomitant with a transition in the size of uniform thickness graphene, ranging from nanocrystallites to thousands of square microns. Combination Raman modes of as-grown graphene within the frequency range of 1650 cm ₋1 to 2300 cm ₋1, along with features of the Raman 2D mode, were employed as signatures of turbostratic graphene. Bilayer and multilayer graphene were directly identified from areas that exhibited Raman characteristics of turbostratic graphene using high-resolution TEM imaging. Lastly, Raman maps of the pertinent modes reveal large regions of turbostratic graphene on Ni(111) thin films at a deposition temperature of 1100°C.« less

  2. Large-Area Growth of Turbostratic Graphene on Ni(111) via Physical Vapor Deposition

    DOE PAGES

    Garlow, Joseph A.; Barrett, Lawrence K.; Wu, Lijun; ...

    2016-01-29

    Single-layer graphene has demonstrated remarkable electronic properties that are strongly influenced by interfacial bonding and break down for the lowest energy configuration of stacked graphene layers (AB Bernal). Multilayer graphene with relative rotations between carbon layers, known as turbostratic graphene, can effectively decouple the electronic states of adjacent layers, preserving properties similar to that of SLG. While the growth of AB Bernal graphene through chemical vapor deposition has been widely reported, we investigate the growth of turbostratic graphene on heteroepitaxial Ni(111) thin films utilizing physical vapor deposition. By varying the carbon deposition temperature between 800–1100°C, we report an increase inmore » the graphene quality concomitant with a transition in the size of uniform thickness graphene, ranging from nanocrystallites to thousands of square microns. Combination Raman modes of as-grown graphene within the frequency range of 1650 cm ₋1 to 2300 cm ₋1, along with features of the Raman 2D mode, were employed as signatures of turbostratic graphene. Bilayer and multilayer graphene were directly identified from areas that exhibited Raman characteristics of turbostratic graphene using high-resolution TEM imaging. Lastly, Raman maps of the pertinent modes reveal large regions of turbostratic graphene on Ni(111) thin films at a deposition temperature of 1100°C.« less

  3. Large-Area Growth of Turbostratic Graphene on Ni(111) via Physical Vapor Deposition

    PubMed Central

    Garlow, Joseph A.; Barrett, Lawrence K.; Wu, Lijun; Kisslinger, Kim; Zhu, Yimei; Pulecio, Javier F.

    2016-01-01

    Single-layer graphene has demonstrated remarkable electronic properties that are strongly influenced by interfacial bonding and break down for the lowest energy configuration of stacked graphene layers (AB Bernal). Multilayer graphene with relative rotations between carbon layers, known as turbostratic graphene, can effectively decouple the electronic states of adjacent layers, preserving properties similar to that of SLG. While the growth of AB Bernal graphene through chemical vapor deposition has been widely reported, we investigate the growth of turbostratic graphene on heteroepitaxial Ni(111) thin films utilizing physical vapor deposition. By varying the carbon deposition temperature between 800 –1100 °C, we report an increase in the graphene quality concomitant with a transition in the size of uniform thickness graphene, ranging from nanocrystallites to thousands of square microns. Combination Raman modes of as-grown graphene within the frequency range of 1650 cm−1 to 2300 cm−1, along with features of the Raman 2D mode, were employed as signatures of turbostratic graphene. Bilayer and multilayer graphene were directly identified from areas that exhibited Raman characteristics of turbostratic graphene using high-resolution TEM imaging. Raman maps of the pertinent modes reveal large regions of turbostratic graphene on Ni(111) thin films at a deposition temperature of 1100 °C. PMID:26821604

  4. Sub-wavelength antenna enhanced bilayer graphene tunable photodetector

    DOEpatents

    Beechem, III, Thomas Edwin; Howell, Stephen W.; Peters, David W.; Davids, Paul; Ohta, Taisuke

    2016-03-22

    The integration of bilayer graphene with an absorption enhancing sub-wavelength antenna provides an infrared photodetector capable of real-time spectral tuning without filters at nanosecond timescales.

  5. Opening a band gap without breaking lattice symmetry: a new route toward robust graphene-based nanoelectronics.

    PubMed

    Kou, Liangzhi; Hu, Feiming; Yan, Binghai; Frauenheim, Thomas; Chen, Changfeng

    2014-07-07

    Developing graphene-based nanoelectronics hinges on opening a band gap in the electronic structure of graphene, which is commonly achieved by breaking the inversion symmetry of the graphene lattice via an electric field (gate bias) or asymmetric doping of graphene layers. Here we introduce a new design strategy that places a bilayer graphene sheet sandwiched between two cladding layers of materials that possess strong spin-orbit coupling (e.g., Bi2Te3). Our ab initio and tight-binding calculations show that a proximity enhanced spin-orbit coupling effect opens a large (44 meV) band gap in bilayer graphene without breaking its lattice symmetry, and the band gap can be effectively tuned by an interlayer stacking pattern and significantly enhanced by interlayer compression. The feasibility of this quantum-well structure is demonstrated by recent experimental realization of high-quality heterojunctions between graphene and Bi2Te3, and this design also conforms to existing fabrication techniques in the semiconductor industry. The proposed quantum-well structure is expected to be especially robust since it does not require an external power supply to open and maintain a band gap, and the cladding layers provide protection against environmental degradation of the graphene layer in its device applications.

  6. Direct growth of graphene-dielectric bi-layer structure on device substrates from Si-based polymer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seo, Hong-Kyu; Kim, Kyunghun; Min, Sung-Yong; Lee, Yeongjun; Eon Park, Chan; Raj, Rishi; Lee, Tae-Woo

    2017-06-01

    To facilitate the utilization of graphene films in conventional semiconducting devices (e.g. transistors and memories) which includes an insulating layer such as gate dielectric, facile synthesis of bi-layers composed of a graphene film and an insulating layer by one-step thermal conversion will be very important. We demonstrate a simple, inexpensive, scalable and patternable process to synthesize graphene-dielectric bi-layer films from solution-processed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) under a Ni capping layer. This method fabricates graphene-dielectric bi-layer structure simultaneously directly on substrate by thermal conversion of PDMS without using additional graphene transfer and patterning process or formation of an expensive dielectric layer, which makes the device fabrication process much easier. The graphene-dielectric bi-layer on a conducting substrate was used in bottom-contact pentacene field-effect transistors that showed ohmic contact and small hysteresis. Our new method will provide a way to fabricate flexible electronic devices simply and inexpensively.

  7. Thermoelectric Power in Bilayer Graphene Device with Ionic Liquid Gating.

    PubMed

    Chien, Yung-Yu; Yuan, Hongtao; Wang, Chang-Ran; Lee, Wei-Li

    2016-02-08

    The quest for materials showing large thermoelectric power has long been one of the important subjects in material science and technology. Such materials have great potential for thermoelectric cooling and also high figure of merit ZT thermoelectric applications. We have fabricated bilayer graphene devices with ionic-liquid gating in order to tune its band gap via application of a perpendicular electric field on a bilayer graphene. By keeping the Fermi level at charge neutral point during the cool-down, we found that the charge puddles effect can be greatly reduced and thus largely improve the transport properties at low T in graphene-based devices using ionic liquid gating. At (Vig, Vbg) = (-1 V, +23 V), a band gap of about 36.6 ± 3 meV forms, and a nearly 40% enhancement of thermoelectric power at T = 120 K is clearly observed. Our works demonstrate the feasibility of band gap tuning in a bilayer graphene using ionic liquid gating. We also remark on the significant influence of the charge puddles effect in ionic-liquid-based devices.

  8. Explanation of ν=−12 fractional quantum Hall state in bilayer graphene

    PubMed Central

    Jacak, L.

    2016-01-01

    The commensurability condition is applied to determine the hierarchy of fractional filling of Landau levels for fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) in monolayer and bilayer graphene. Good agreement with experimental data is achieved. The presence of even-denominator filling fractions in the hierarchy of the FQHE in bilayer graphene is explained, including the state at ν=−12. PMID:27118883

  9. Multibands tunneling in AAA-stacked trilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Redouani, Ilham; Jellal, Ahmed; Bahaoui, Abdelhadi; Bahlouli, Hocine

    2018-04-01

    We study the electronic transport through np and npn junctions for AAA-stacked trilayer graphene. Two kinds of gates are considered where the first is a single gate and the second is a double gate. After obtaining the solutions for the energy spectrum, we use the transfer matrix method to determine the three transmission probabilities for each individual cone τ = 0 , ± 1 . We show that the quasiparticles in AAA-stacked trilayer graphene are not only chiral but also labeled by an additional cone index τ. The obtained bands are composed of three Dirac cones that depend on the chirality indexes. We show that there is perfect transmission for normal or near normal incidence, which is a manifestation of the Klein tunneling effect. We analyze also the corresponding total conductance, which is defined as the sum of the conductance channels in each individual cone. Our results are numerically discussed and compared with those obtained for ABA- and ABC-stacked trilayer graphene.

  10. Mobility gap and quantum transport in a functionalized graphene bilayer.

    PubMed

    Missaoui, Ahmed; Khabthani, Jouda Jemaa; Jaidane, Nejm-Eddine; Mayou, Didier; Trambly de Laissardière, Guy

    2018-05-16

    In a Bernal graphene bilayer, carbon atoms belong to two inequivalent sublattices A and B, with atoms that are coupled to the other layer by [Formula: see text] bonds belonging to sublattice A and the other atoms belonging to sublattice B. We analyze the density of states and the conductivity of Bernal graphene bilayers when atoms of sublattice A or B only are randomly functionalized. We find that for a selective functionalization on sublattice B only, a mobility gap of the order of 0.5 eV is formed close to the Dirac energy at concentration of adatoms [Formula: see text]. In addition, at some other energies conductivity presents anomalous behaviors. We show that these properties are related to the bipartite structure of the graphene layer.

  11. Mobility gap and quantum transport in a functionalized graphene bilayer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Missaoui, Ahmed; Jemaa Khabthani, Jouda; Jaidane, Nejm-Eddine; Mayou, Didier; Trambly de Laissardière, Guy

    2018-05-01

    In a Bernal graphene bilayer, carbon atoms belong to two inequivalent sublattices A and B, with atoms that are coupled to the other layer by bonds belonging to sublattice A and the other atoms belonging to sublattice B. We analyze the density of states and the conductivity of Bernal graphene bilayers when atoms of sublattice A or B only are randomly functionalized. We find that for a selective functionalization on sublattice B only, a mobility gap of the order of 0.5 eV is formed close to the Dirac energy at concentration of adatoms . In addition, at some other energies conductivity presents anomalous behaviors. We show that these properties are related to the bipartite structure of the graphene layer.

  12. High-frequency self-aligned graphene transistors with transferred gate stacks

    PubMed Central

    Cheng, Rui; Bai, Jingwei; Liao, Lei; Zhou, Hailong; Chen, Yu; Liu, Lixin; Lin, Yung-Chen; Jiang, Shan; Huang, Yu; Duan, Xiangfeng

    2012-01-01

    Graphene has attracted enormous attention for radio-frequency transistor applications because of its exceptional high carrier mobility, high carrier saturation velocity, and large critical current density. Herein we report a new approach for the scalable fabrication of high-performance graphene transistors with transferred gate stacks. Specifically, arrays of gate stacks are first patterned on a sacrificial substrate, and then transferred onto arbitrary substrates with graphene on top. A self-aligned process, enabled by the unique structure of the transferred gate stacks, is then used to position precisely the source and drain electrodes with minimized access resistance or parasitic capacitance. This process has therefore enabled scalable fabrication of self-aligned graphene transistors with unprecedented performance including a record-high cutoff frequency up to 427 GHz. Our study defines a unique pathway to large-scale fabrication of high-performance graphene transistors, and holds significant potential for future application of graphene-based devices in ultra–high-frequency circuits. PMID:22753503

  13. High-frequency self-aligned graphene transistors with transferred gate stacks.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Rui; Bai, Jingwei; Liao, Lei; Zhou, Hailong; Chen, Yu; Liu, Lixin; Lin, Yung-Chen; Jiang, Shan; Huang, Yu; Duan, Xiangfeng

    2012-07-17

    Graphene has attracted enormous attention for radio-frequency transistor applications because of its exceptional high carrier mobility, high carrier saturation velocity, and large critical current density. Herein we report a new approach for the scalable fabrication of high-performance graphene transistors with transferred gate stacks. Specifically, arrays of gate stacks are first patterned on a sacrificial substrate, and then transferred onto arbitrary substrates with graphene on top. A self-aligned process, enabled by the unique structure of the transferred gate stacks, is then used to position precisely the source and drain electrodes with minimized access resistance or parasitic capacitance. This process has therefore enabled scalable fabrication of self-aligned graphene transistors with unprecedented performance including a record-high cutoff frequency up to 427 GHz. Our study defines a unique pathway to large-scale fabrication of high-performance graphene transistors, and holds significant potential for future application of graphene-based devices in ultra-high-frequency circuits.

  14. Understanding and Controlling the Electronic Properties of Graphene Using Scanning Probe Microscopy

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-07-21

    Dirac point in gated bilayer graphene, Applied Physics Letters, (12 2009): 243502. doi : 10.1063/1.3275755 Brian J. LeRoy, Adam T. Roberts, Rolf...of soliton motion and stacking in trilayer graphene, Nature Materials , (04 2014): 0. doi : 10.1038/nmat3965 Matthew Yankowitz, Joel I-Jan Wang...of bilayer graphene via quasiparticle scattering, APL Materials , (09 2014): 92503. doi : Matthew Yankowitz, Fenglin Wang, Chun Ning Lau, Brian J

  15. P3HT-graphene bilayer electrode for Schottky junction photodetectors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aydın, H.; Kalkan, S. B.; Varlikli, C.; Çelebi, C.

    2018-04-01

    We have investigated the effect of a poly (3-hexylthiophene-2.5-diyl)(P3HT)-graphene bilayer electrode on the photoresponsivity characteristics of Si-based Schottky photodetectors. P3HT, which is known to be an electron donor and absorb light in the visible spectrum, was placed on CVD grown graphene by dip-coating method. The results of the UV-vis and Raman spectroscopy measurements have been evaluated to confirm the optical and electronic modification of graphene by the P3HT thin film. Current-voltage measurements of graphene/Si and P3HT-graphene/Si revealed rectification behavior confirming a Schottky junction formation at the graphene/Si interface. Time-resolved photocurrent spectroscopy measurements showed the devices had excellent durability and a fast response speed. We found that the maximum spectral photoresponsivity of the P3HT-graphene/Si photodetector increased more than three orders of magnitude compared to that of the bare graphene/Si photodetector. The observed increment in the photoresponsivity of the P3HT-graphene/Si samples was attributed to the charge transfer doping from P3HT to graphene within the spectral range between near-ultraviolet and near-infrared. Furthermore, the P3HT-graphene electrode was found to improve the specific detectivity and noise equivalent power of graphene/Si photodetectors. The obtained results showed that the P3HT-graphene bilayer electrodes significantly improved the photoresponsivity characteristics of our samples and thus can be used as a functional component in Si-based optoelectronic device applications.

  16. Current saturation and voltage gain in bilayer graphene field effect transistors.

    PubMed

    Szafranek, B N; Fiori, G; Schall, D; Neumaier, D; Kurz, H

    2012-03-14

    The emergence of graphene with its unique electrical properties has triggered hopes in the electronic devices community regarding its exploitation as a channel material in field effect transistors. Graphene is especially promising for devices working at frequencies in the 100 GHz range. So far, graphene field effect transistors (GFETs) have shown cutoff frequencies up to 300 GHz, while exhibiting poor voltage gains, another important figure of merit for analog high frequency applications. In the present work, we show that the voltage gain of GFETs can be improved significantly by using bilayer graphene, where a band gap is introduced through a vertical electric displacement field. At a displacement field of -1.7 V/nm the bilayer GFETs exhibit an intrinsic voltage gain up to 35, a factor of 6 higher than the voltage gain in corresponding monolayer GFETs. The transconductance, which limits the cutoff frequency of a transistor, is not degraded by the displacement field and is similar in both monolayer and bilayer GFETs. Using numerical simulations based on an atomistic p(z) tight-binding Hamiltonian we demonstrate that this approach can be extended to sub-100 nm gate lengths. © 2012 American Chemical Society

  17. Theoretical determination of hydrodynamic window in monolayer and bilayer graphene from scattering rates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ho, Derek Y. H.; Yudhistira, Indra; Chakraborty, Nilotpal; Adam, Shaffique

    2018-03-01

    Electrons behave like a classical fluid with a momentum distribution function that varies slowly in space and time when the quantum-mechanical carrier-carrier scattering dominates over all other scattering processes. Recent experiments in monolayer and bilayer graphene have reported signatures of such hydrodynamic electron behavior in ultraclean devices. In this theoretical work, starting from a microscopic treatment of electron-electron, electron-phonon, and electron-impurity interactions within the random phase approximation, we demonstrate that monolayer and bilayer graphene both host two different hydrodynamic regimes. We predict that the hydrodynamic window in bilayer graphene is stronger than in monolayer graphene, and has a characteristic "v shape" as opposed to a "lung shape." Finally, we collapse experimental data onto a universal disorder-limited theory, demonstrating that the observed violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law in monolayers occurs in a regime dominated by impurity-induced electron-hole puddles.

  18. Energy density and energy flow of plasmonic waves in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moradi, Afshin

    2017-07-01

    The propagation of plasmonic waves in bilayer graphene is studied based on the classical electrodynamics. The interactions between conduction electrons confined to move on the surface of each layer are taken into account via the two-dimensional linearized hydrodynamic model. The energy theorem of electrodynamics is cast in a form which yields expressions for energy density and energy flow of p-polarized surface plasmon polariton waves in bilayer graphene. Numerical results show that the presence of two layers causes the appearance of two branches in the dispersion relation that introduce alterations in the physical behavior of the energy, power flow and the energy transport velocity, in comparison with the results of monolayer graphene.

  19. Controllable poly-crystalline bilayered and multilayered graphene film growth by reciprocal chemical vapor deposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Qinke; Jung, Seong Jun; Jang, Sung Kyu; Lee, Joohyun; Jeon, Insu; Suh, Hwansoo; Kim, Yong Ho; Lee, Young Hee; Lee, Sungjoo; Song, Young Jae

    2015-06-01

    We report the selective growth of large-area bilayered graphene film and multilayered graphene film on copper. This growth was achieved by introducing a reciprocal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process that took advantage of an intermediate h-BN layer as a sacrificial template for graphene growth. A thin h-BN film, initially grown on the copper substrate using CVD methods, was locally etched away during the subsequent graphene growth under residual H2 and CH4 gas flows. Etching of the h-BN layer formed a channel that permitted the growth of additional graphene adlayers below the existing graphene layer. Bilayered graphene typically covers an entire Cu foil with domain sizes of 10-50 μm, whereas multilayered graphene can be epitaxially grown to form islands a few hundreds of microns in size. This new mechanism, in which graphene growth proceeded simultaneously with h-BN etching, suggests a potential approach to control graphene layers for engineering the band structures of large-area graphene for electronic device applications.We report the selective growth of large-area bilayered graphene film and multilayered graphene film on copper. This growth was achieved by introducing a reciprocal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process that took advantage of an intermediate h-BN layer as a sacrificial template for graphene growth. A thin h-BN film, initially grown on the copper substrate using CVD methods, was locally etched away during the subsequent graphene growth under residual H2 and CH4 gas flows. Etching of the h-BN layer formed a channel that permitted the growth of additional graphene adlayers below the existing graphene layer. Bilayered graphene typically covers an entire Cu foil with domain sizes of 10-50 μm, whereas multilayered graphene can be epitaxially grown to form islands a few hundreds of microns in size. This new mechanism, in which graphene growth proceeded simultaneously with h-BN etching, suggests a potential approach to control graphene layers for

  20. Gate-Controlled Transmission of Quantum Hall Edge States in Bilayer Graphene.

    PubMed

    Li, Jing; Wen, Hua; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Zhu, Jun

    2018-02-02

    The edge states of the quantum Hall and fractional quantum Hall effect of a two-dimensional electron gas carry key information of the bulk excitations. Here we demonstrate gate-controlled transmission of edge states in bilayer graphene through a potential barrier with tunable height. The backscattering rate is continuously varied from 0 to close to 1, with fractional quantized values corresponding to the sequential complete backscattering of individual modes. Our experiments demonstrate the feasibility to controllably manipulate edge states in bilayer graphene, thus opening the door to more complex experiments.

  1. Gate-Controlled Transmission of Quantum Hall Edge States in Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jing; Wen, Hua; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Zhu, Jun

    2018-02-01

    The edge states of the quantum Hall and fractional quantum Hall effect of a two-dimensional electron gas carry key information of the bulk excitations. Here we demonstrate gate-controlled transmission of edge states in bilayer graphene through a potential barrier with tunable height. The backscattering rate is continuously varied from 0 to close to 1, with fractional quantized values corresponding to the sequential complete backscattering of individual modes. Our experiments demonstrate the feasibility to controllably manipulate edge states in bilayer graphene, thus opening the door to more complex experiments.

  2. Experimental evidence for non-Abelian gauge potentials in twisted graphene bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yin, Long-Jing; Qiao, Jia-Bin; Zuo, Wei-Jie; Li, Wen-Tian; He, Lin

    2015-08-01

    Non-Abelian gauge potentials are quite relevant in subatomic physics, but they are relatively rare in a condensed matter context. Here we report the experimental evidence for non-Abelian gauge potentials in twisted graphene bilayers by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. At a magic twisted angle, θ ≈(1.11±0.05 ) ∘ , a pronounced sharp peak, which arises from the nondispersive flat bands at the charge neutrality point, is observed in the tunneling density of states due to the action of the non-Abelian gauge fields. Moreover, we observe confined electronic states in the twisted bilayer, as manifested by regularly spaced tunneling peaks with energy spacing δ E ≈vF/D ≈70 meV (here vF is the Fermi velocity of graphene and D is the period of the moiré patterns). This indicates that the non-Abelian gauge potentials in twisted graphene bilayers confine low-energy electrons into a triangular array of quantum dots following the modulation of the moiré patterns. Our results also directly demonstrate that the Fermi velocity in twisted bilayers can be tuned from about 106m /s to zero by simply reducing the twisted angle of about 2∘.

  3. Large-signal model of the bilayer graphene field-effect transistor targeting radio-frequency applications: Theory versus experiment

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pasadas, Francisco, E-mail: Francisco.Pasadas@uab.cat; Jiménez, David

    2015-12-28

    Bilayer graphene is a promising material for radio-frequency transistors because its energy gap might result in a better current saturation than the monolayer graphene. Because the great deal of interest in this technology, especially for flexible radio-frequency applications, gaining control of it requires the formulation of appropriate models for the drain current, charge, and capacitance. In this work, we have developed them for a dual-gated bilayer graphene field-effect transistor. A drift-diffusion mechanism for the carrier transport has been considered coupled with an appropriate field-effect model taking into account the electronic properties of the bilayer graphene. Extrinsic resistances have been includedmore » considering the formation of a Schottky barrier at the metal-bilayer graphene interface. The proposed model has been benchmarked against experimental prototype transistors, discussing the main figures of merit targeting radio-frequency applications.« less

  4. Dielectric properties of graphene/MoS2 heterostructures from ab initio calculations and electron energy-loss experiments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mohn, Michael J.; Hambach, Ralf; Wachsmuth, Philipp; Giorgetti, Christine; Kaiser, Ute

    2018-06-01

    High-energy electronic excitations of graphene and MoS2 heterostructures are investigated by momentum-resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy in the range of 1 to 35 eV. The interplay of excitations on different sheets is understood in terms of long-range Coulomb interactions and is simulated using a combination of ab initio and dielectric model calculations. In particular, the layered electron-gas model is extended to thick layers by including the spatial dependence of the dielectric response in the direction perpendicular to the sheets. We apply this model to the case of graphene/MoS2/graphene heterostructures and discuss the possibility of extracting the dielectric properties of an encapsulated monolayer from measurements of the entire stack.

  5. The Effects of Graphene Stacking on the Performance of Methane Sensor: A First-Principles Study on the Adsorption, Band Gap and Doping of Graphene.

    PubMed

    Yang, Ning; Yang, Daoguo; Zhang, Guoqi; Chen, Liangbiao; Liu, Dongjing; Cai, Miao; Fan, Xuejun

    2018-02-01

    The effects of graphene stacking are investigated by comparing the results of methane adsorption energy, electronic performance, and the doping feasibility of five dopants (i.e., B, N, Al, Si, and P) via first-principles theory. Both zigzag and armchair graphenes are considered. It is found that the zigzag graphene with Bernal stacking has the largest adsorption energy on methane, while the armchair graphene with Order stacking is opposite. In addition, both the Order and Bernal stacked graphenes possess a positive linear relationship between adsorption energy and layer number. Furthermore, they always have larger adsorption energy in zigzag graphene. For electronic properties, the results show that the stacking effects on band gap are significant, but it does not cause big changes to band structure and density of states. In the comparison of distance, the average interlamellar spacing of the Order stacked graphene is the largest. Moreover, the adsorption effect is the result of the interactions between graphene and methane combined with the change of graphene's structure. Lastly, the armchair graphene with Order stacking possesses the lowest formation energy in these five dopants. It could be the best choice for doping to improve the methane adsorption.

  6. Determination of a refractive index and an extinction coefficient of standard production of CVD-graphene.

    PubMed

    Ochoa-Martínez, Efraín; Gabás, Mercedes; Barrutia, Laura; Pesquera, Amaia; Centeno, Alba; Palanco, Santiago; Zurutuza, Amaia; Algora, Carlos

    2015-01-28

    The refractive index and extinction coefficient of chemical vapour deposition grown graphene are determined by ellipsometry analysis. Graphene films were grown on copper substrates and transferred as both monolayers and bilayers onto SiO2/Si substrates by using standard manufacturing procedures. The chemical nature and thickness of residual debris formed after the transfer process were elucidated using photoelectron spectroscopy. The real layered structure so deduced has been used instead of the nominal one as the input in the ellipsometry analysis of monolayer and bilayer graphene, transferred onto both native and thermal silicon oxide. The effect of these contamination layers on the optical properties of the stacked structure is noticeable both in the visible and the ultraviolet spectral regions, thus masking the graphene optical response. Finally, the use of heat treatment under a nitrogen atmosphere of the graphene-based stacked structures, as a method to reduce the water content of the sample, and its effect on the optical response of both graphene and the residual debris layer are presented. The Lorentz-Drude model proposed for the optical response of graphene fits fairly well the experimental ellipsometric data for all the analysed graphene-based stacked structures.

  7. Neutron diffraction from aligned stacks of lipid bilayers using the WAND instrument

    DOE PAGES

    Marquardt, Drew; Frontzek, Matthias D.; Zhao, Yu; ...

    2018-02-06

    Neutron diffraction from aligned stacks of lipid bilayers is examined using the Wide-Angle Neutron Diffractometer (WAND), located at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Data were collected at different levels of hydration and neutron contrast by varying the relative humidity (RH) and H 2O/D 2O ratio from multi-bilayers of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine and sunflower phosphatidylcholine extract aligned on single-crystal silicon substrates. This work highlights the capabilites of a newly fabricated sample hydration cell, which allows the lipid bilayers to be hydrated with varying H/D ratios from the RH generated by saturated salt solutions, and also demonstrates WAND's capability asmore » an instrument suitable for the study of aligned lipid multi-bilayers.« less

  8. Neutron diffraction from aligned stacks of lipid bilayers using the WAND instrument

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Marquardt, Drew; Frontzek, Matthias D.; Zhao, Yu

    Neutron diffraction from aligned stacks of lipid bilayers is examined using the Wide-Angle Neutron Diffractometer (WAND), located at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Data were collected at different levels of hydration and neutron contrast by varying the relative humidity (RH) and H 2O/D 2O ratio from multi-bilayers of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine and sunflower phosphatidylcholine extract aligned on single-crystal silicon substrates. This work highlights the capabilites of a newly fabricated sample hydration cell, which allows the lipid bilayers to be hydrated with varying H/D ratios from the RH generated by saturated salt solutions, and also demonstrates WAND's capability asmore » an instrument suitable for the study of aligned lipid multi-bilayers.« less

  9. Population inversion in monolayer and bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gierz, Isabella; Mitrano, Matteo; Petersen, Jesse C.; Cacho, Cephise; Turcu, I. C. Edmond; Springate, Emma; Stöhr, Alexander; Köhler, Axel; Starke, Ulrich; Cavalleri, Andrea

    2015-04-01

    The recent demonstration of saturable absorption and negative optical conductivity in the Terahertz range in graphene has opened up new opportunities for optoelectronic applications based on this and other low dimensional materials. Recently, population inversion across the Dirac point has been observed directly by time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (tr-ARPES), revealing a relaxation time of only ∼130 femtoseconds. This severely limits the applicability of single layer graphene to, for example, Terahertz light amplification. Here we use tr-ARPES to demonstrate long-lived population inversion in bilayer graphene. The effect is attributed to the small band gap found in this compound. We propose a microscopic model for these observations and speculate that an enhancement of both the pump photon energy and the pump fluence may further increase this lifetime.

  10. The Effects of Graphene Stacking on the Performance of Methane Sensor: A First-Principles Study on the Adsorption, Band Gap and Doping of Graphene

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Daoguo; Zhang, Guoqi; Chen, Liangbiao; Liu, Dongjing; Cai, Miao; Fan, Xuejun

    2018-01-01

    The effects of graphene stacking are investigated by comparing the results of methane adsorption energy, electronic performance, and the doping feasibility of five dopants (i.e., B, N, Al, Si, and P) via first-principles theory. Both zigzag and armchair graphenes are considered. It is found that the zigzag graphene with Bernal stacking has the largest adsorption energy on methane, while the armchair graphene with Order stacking is opposite. In addition, both the Order and Bernal stacked graphenes possess a positive linear relationship between adsorption energy and layer number. Furthermore, they always have larger adsorption energy in zigzag graphene. For electronic properties, the results show that the stacking effects on band gap are significant, but it does not cause big changes to band structure and density of states. In the comparison of distance, the average interlamellar spacing of the Order stacked graphene is the largest. Moreover, the adsorption effect is the result of the interactions between graphene and methane combined with the change of graphene’s structure. Lastly, the armchair graphene with Order stacking possesses the lowest formation energy in these five dopants. It could be the best choice for doping to improve the methane adsorption. PMID:29389860

  11. Adsorption of beryllium atoms and clusters both on graphene and in a bilayer of graphite investigated by DFT.

    PubMed

    Ferro, Yves; Fernandez, Nicolas; Allouche, Alain; Linsmeier, Christian

    2013-01-09

    We herein investigate the interaction of beryllium with a graphene sheet and in a bilayer of graphite by means of periodic DFT calculations. In all cases, we find the beryllium atoms to be more weakly bonded on graphene than in the bilayer. Be(2) forms both magnetic and non-magnetic structures on graphene depending on the geometrical configuration of adsorption. We find that the stability of the Be/bilayer system increases with the size of the beryllium clusters inserted into the bilayer of graphite. We also find a charge transfer from beryllium to the graphite layers. All these results are analysed in terms of electronic structure.

  12. STM/STS studies of Ca-intercalated bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shimizu, Ryota; Sugawara, Katsuaki; Kanetani, Kohei; Iwaya, Katsuya; Sato, Takafumi; Takahashi, Takashi; Hitosugi, Taro

    2013-03-01

    We have performed low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) measurements on a two-dimensional Ca-intercalated bilayer graphene epitaxially grown on a 6H-SiC(0001) substrate. The STM topographic images clearly resolve each intercalated Ca atom with graphene-based honeycomb lattice. Furthermore, we found a clear ×2.5 modulation in the topography, implying charge density wave or Moiré pattern originated from the interaction with the SiC substrate. Comparison with ARPES measurements provided us of further insight into the Fermi surface deduced from STS.

  13. Low-temperature charged impurity scattering-limited conductivity in relatively high doped bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Bo

    2015-08-01

    Based on semiclassical Boltzamnn transport theory in random phase approximation, we develop a theoretical model to investigate low-temperature carrier transport properties in relatively high doped bilayer graphene. In the presence of both electron-hole puddles and band gap induced by charged impurities, we calculate low-temperature charged impurity scattering-limited conductivity in relatively high doped bilayer graphene. Our calculated conductivity results are in excellent agreement with published experimental data in all compensated gate voltage regime of study by using potential fluctuation parameter as only one free fitting parameter, indicating that both electron-hole puddles and band gap induced by charged impurities play an important role in carrier transport. More importantly, we also find that the conductivity not only depends strongly on the total charged impurity density, but also on the top layer charged impurity density, which is different from that obtained by neglecting the opening of band gap, especially for bilayer graphene with high top layer charged impurity density.

  14. Preparation and electrical transport properties of quasi free standing bilayer graphene on SiC (0001) substrate by H intercalation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yu, Cui; Liu, Qingbin; Li, Jia

    2014-11-03

    We investigate the temperature dependent electrical transport properties of quasi-free standing bilayer graphene on 4H-SiC (0001) substrate. Three groups of monolayer epitaxial graphene and corresponding quasi-free standing bilayer graphene with different crystal quality and layer number homogeneity are prepared. Raman spectroscopy and atomic-force microscopy are used to obtain their morphologies and layer number, and verify the complete translation of buffer layer into graphene. The highest room temperature mobility reaches 3700 cm{sup 2}/V·s for the quasi-free standing graphene. The scattering mechanism analysis shows that poor crystal quality and layer number inhomogeneity introduce stronger interacting of SiC substrate to the graphene layer andmore » more impurities, which limit the carrier mobility of the quasi-free standing bilayer graphene samples.« less

  15. Nature of Interlayer Binding and Stacking of sp–sp 2 Hybridized Carbon Layers: A Quantum Monte Carlo Study

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shin, Hyeondeok; Kim, Jeongnim; Lee, Hoonkyung

    α-graphyne is a two-dimensional sheet of sp-sp2 hybridized carbon atoms in a honeycomb lattice. While the geometrical structure is similar to that of graphene, the hybridized triple bonds give rise to electronic structure that is different from that of graphene. Similar to graphene, α-graphyne can be stacked in bilayers with two stable configurations, but the different stackings have very different electronic structures: one is predicted to have gapless parabolic bands and the other a tunable bandgap which is attractive for applications. In order to realize applications, it is crucial to understand which stacking is more stable. This is difficult tomore » model, as the stability is a result of weak interlayer van der Waals interactions which are not well captured by density functional theory (DFT). We have used quantum Monte Carlo simulations that accurately include van der Waals interactions to calculate the interlayer binding energy of bilayer graphyne and to determine its most stable stacking mode. Our results show that inter-layer bindings of sp- and sp2-bonded carbon networks are significantly underestimated in a Kohn-Sham DFT approach, even with an exchange-correlation potential corrected to include, in some approximation, van der Waals interactions. Finally, our quantum Monte Carlo calculations reveal that the interlayer binding energy difference between the two stacking modes is only 0.9(4) eV/atom. From this we conclude that the two stable stacking modes of bilayer α-graphyne are almost degenerate with each other, and both will occur with about the same probability at room temperature unless there is a synthesis path that prefers one stacking over the other.« less

  16. Nature of Interlayer Binding and Stacking of sp–sp 2 Hybridized Carbon Layers: A Quantum Monte Carlo Study

    DOE PAGES

    Shin, Hyeondeok; Kim, Jeongnim; Lee, Hoonkyung; ...

    2017-10-25

    α-graphyne is a two-dimensional sheet of sp-sp2 hybridized carbon atoms in a honeycomb lattice. While the geometrical structure is similar to that of graphene, the hybridized triple bonds give rise to electronic structure that is different from that of graphene. Similar to graphene, α-graphyne can be stacked in bilayers with two stable configurations, but the different stackings have very different electronic structures: one is predicted to have gapless parabolic bands and the other a tunable bandgap which is attractive for applications. In order to realize applications, it is crucial to understand which stacking is more stable. This is difficult tomore » model, as the stability is a result of weak interlayer van der Waals interactions which are not well captured by density functional theory (DFT). We have used quantum Monte Carlo simulations that accurately include van der Waals interactions to calculate the interlayer binding energy of bilayer graphyne and to determine its most stable stacking mode. Our results show that inter-layer bindings of sp- and sp2-bonded carbon networks are significantly underestimated in a Kohn-Sham DFT approach, even with an exchange-correlation potential corrected to include, in some approximation, van der Waals interactions. Finally, our quantum Monte Carlo calculations reveal that the interlayer binding energy difference between the two stacking modes is only 0.9(4) eV/atom. From this we conclude that the two stable stacking modes of bilayer α-graphyne are almost degenerate with each other, and both will occur with about the same probability at room temperature unless there is a synthesis path that prefers one stacking over the other.« less

  17. Revival of cloaking effect in a driven bilayer graphene vector barrier

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maiti, S.; Panigrahi, A.; Biswas, R.; Sinha, C.

    2018-05-01

    Transmission profiles in bilayer graphene are studied theoretically through a rectangular vector potential (magnetic) barrier with and without the presence of an oscillatory potential. Unlike the electrostatic barrier, the Fano resonances (FR) are noted in the transmission spectra both for normal and glancing incidences due to non-conservation of chirality for a static vector barrier. The results for normal incidence indicate that the cloaking effect is a manifestation of the chirality conservation in charge transport through bilayer graphene scalar barriers. It is also noted that the aforesaid FR for a static vector barrier might disappear (photon induced electronic cloaking effect) due to the predominant photon exchange processes in presence of an external oscillating potential. The study of Fano resonances in transmission spectrum is in high demand in respect of localization of charge carriers in graphene nano structures for its potential applications in digital device fabrications.

  18. Electromagnetic coupling of spins and pseudospins in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Winkler, R.; Zülicke, U.

    2015-03-01

    We present a theoretical study of bilayer-graphene's electronic properties in the presence of electric and magnetic fields. In contrast to known materials, including single-layer graphene, any possible coupling of physical quantities to components of the electric field has a counterpart where the analogous component of the magnetic field couples to exactly the same quantities. For example, a purely electric spin splitting appears as the magneto-electric analogue of the magnetic Zeeman spin splitting. The measurable thermodynamic response induced by magnetic and electric fields is thus completely symmetric. The Pauli magnetization induced by a magnetic field takes exactly the same functional form as the polarization induced by an electric field. Although they seem counterintuitive, our findings are consistent with fundamental principles such as time reversal symmetry. For example, only a magnetic field can give rise to a macroscopic spin polarization, whereas only a perpendicular electric field can induce a macroscopic polarization of the sublattice-related pseudospin in bilayer graphene. These rules enforced by symmetry for the matter-field interactions clarify the nature of spins versus pseudospins. We have obtained numerical values of prefactors for relevant terms. NSF Grant DMR-1310199 and Marsden Fund Contract No. VUW0719.

  19. Two-dimensional layered semiconductor/graphene heterostructures for solar photovoltaic applications.

    PubMed

    Shanmugam, Mariyappan; Jacobs-Gedrim, Robin; Song, Eui Sang; Yu, Bin

    2014-11-07

    Schottky barriers formed by graphene (monolayer, bilayer, and multilayer) on 2D layered semiconductor tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanosheets are explored for solar energy harvesting. The characteristics of the graphene-WS2 Schottky junction vary significantly with the number of graphene layers on WS2, resulting in differences in solar cell performance. Compared with monolayer or stacked bilayer graphene, multilayer graphene helps in achieving improved solar cell performance due to superior electrical conductivity. The all-layered-material Schottky barrier solar cell employing WS2 as a photoactive semiconductor exhibits efficient photon absorption in the visible spectral range, yielding 3.3% photoelectric conversion efficiency with multilayer graphene as the Schottky contact. Carrier transport at the graphene/WS2 interface and the interfacial recombination process in the Schottky barrier solar cells are examined.

  20. Electronic properties of BN-doped bilayer graphene and graphyne in the presence of electric field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Majidi, R.; Karami, A. R.

    2013-11-01

    In the present paper, we have used density functional theory to study electronic properties of bilayer graphene and graphyne doped with B and N impurities in the presence of electric field. It has been demonstrated that a band gap is opened in the band structures of the bilayer graphene and graphyne by B and N doping. We have also investigated influence of electric field on the electronic properties of BN-doped bilayer graphene and graphyne. It is found that the band gaps induced by B and N impurities are increased by applying electric field. Our results reveal that doping with B and N, and applying electric field are an effective method to open and control a band gap which is useful to design carbon-based next-generation electronic devices.

  1. Band gap opening of bilayer graphene by F4-TCNQ molecular doping and externally applied electric field.

    PubMed

    Tian, Xiaoqing; Xu, Jianbin; Wang, Xiaomu

    2010-09-09

    The band gap opening of bilayer graphene with one side surface adsorption of F4-TCNQ is reported. F4-TCNQ doped bilayer graphene shows p-type semiconductor characteristics. With a F4-TCNQ concentration of 1.3 x 10(-10) mol/cm(2), the charge transfer between each F4-TCNQ molecule and graphene is 0.45e, and the built-in electric field, E(bi), between the graphene layers could reach 0.070 V/A. The charge transfer and band gap opening of the F4-TCNQ-doped graphene can be further modulated by an externally applied electric field (E(ext)). At 0.077 V/A, the gap opening at the Dirac point (K), DeltaE(K) = 306 meV, and the band gap, E(g) = 253 meV, are around 71% and 49% larger than those of the pristine bilayer under the same E(ext).

  2. Spectral properties of excitons in the bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Apinyan, V.; Kopeć, T. K.

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we consider the spectral properties of the bilayer graphene with the local excitonic pairing interaction between the electrons and holes. We consider the generalized Hubbard model, which includes both intralayer and interlayer Coulomb interaction parameters. The solution of the excitonic gap parameter is used to calculate the electronic band structure, single-particle spectral functions, the hybridization gap, and the excitonic coherence length in the bilayer graphene. We show that the local interlayer Coulomb interaction is responsible for the semimetal-semiconductor transition in the double layer system, and we calculate the hybridization gap in the band structure above the critical interaction value. The formation of the excitonic band gap is reported as the threshold process and the momentum distribution functions have been calculated numerically. We show that in the weak coupling limit the system is governed by the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS)-like pairing state. Contrary, in the strong coupling limit the excitonic condensate states appear in the semiconducting phase, by forming the Dirac's pockets in the reciprocal space.

  3. Strain, stabilities and electronic properties of hexagonal BN bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fujimoto, Yoshitaka; Saito, Susumu

    Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) atomic layers have been regarded as fascinating materials both scientifically and technologically due to the sizable band gap. This sizable band-gap nature of the h-BN atomic layers would provide not only new physical properties but also novel nano- and/or opto-electronics applications. Here, we study the first-principles density-functional study that clarifies the biaxial strain effects on the energetics and the electronic properties of h-BN bilayers. We show that the band gaps of the h-BN bilayers are tunable by applying strains. Furthermore, we show that the biaxial strains can produce a transition from indirect to direct band gaps of the h-BN bilayer. We also discuss that both AA and AB stacking patterns of h-BN bilayer become feasible structures because h-BN bilayers possess two different directions in the stacking patterns. Supported by MEXT Elements Strategy Initiative to Form Core Research Center through Tokodai Institute for Element Strategy, JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP26390062 and JP25107005.

  4. Dual doped monolayer and bilayer graphene: The case of 4p and 2p elements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Denis, Pablo A.; Iribarne, Federico

    2016-08-01

    4p/2p dual-doped monolayer and bilayer graphene were studied via first principle calculations. Generally, dopants prefer to be agglomerated. A second dopant significantly reduces formation energies. Thus, partially reduced graphene oxide would favor substitutional doping by facilitating the introduction of the 4p dopants. Dual-doping can tune the band gap from 0.1 to 0.8 eV. For bilayer graphene, large atomic radii elements (Gallium and Germanium) form interlayer bonds with the undoped sheet. For some dual-doped graphenes, interlayer GaC and GeC bonds were formed, increasing the chemical reactivity of the undoped layer and affecting its electronic structure, with metallic or semiconducting characters observed.

  5. Fabrication of bi-layer graphene and theoretical simulation for its possible application in thin film solar cell.

    PubMed

    Behura, Sanjay K; Mahala, Pramila; Nayak, Sasmita; Yang, Qiaoqin; Mukhopadhyay, Indrajit; Janil, Omkar

    2014-04-01

    High quality graphene film is fabricated using mechanical exfoliation of highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite. The graphene films on glass substrates are characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A very high intensity ratio of 2D to G-band (to approximately 1.67) and narrow 2D-band full-width at half maximum (to approximately 40 cm(-1)) correspond to the bi-layer graphene formation. The bi-layer graphene/p-GaN/n-InGaN/n-GaN/GaN/sAl2O3 system is studied theoretically using TCAD Silvaco software, in which the properties of exfoliated bi-layer graphene are used as transparent and conductive film, and the device exhibits an efficiency of 15.24% compared to 13.63% for ITO/p-GaN/n-InGaN/n-GaN/GaN/Al2O3 system.

  6. Symmetry breaking in the zero-energy Landau level in bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Y; Cadden-Zimansky, P; Jiang, Z; Kim, P

    2010-02-12

    The quantum Hall effect near the charge neutrality point in bilayer graphene is investigated in high magnetic fields of up to 35 T using electronic transport measurements. In the high-field regime, the eightfold degeneracy in the zero-energy Landau level is completely lifted, exhibiting new quantum Hall states corresponding to filling factors nu=0, 1, 2, and 3. Measurements of the activation energy gaps for the nu=2 and 3 filling factors in tilted magnetic fields exhibit no appreciable dependence on the in-plane magnetic field, suggesting that these Landau level splittings are independent of spin. In addition, measurements taken at the nu=0 charge neutral point show that, similar to single layer graphene, the bilayer becomes insulating at high fields.

  7. Electronic structure and optical properties of graphene/stanene heterobilayer.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xianping; Meng, Ruishen; Jiang, Junke; Liang, Qiuhua; Yang, Qun; Tan, Chunjian; Sun, Xiang; Zhang, Shengli; Ren, Tianling

    2016-06-28

    The structural, electronic and optical properties of the graphene hybrid with stanene, the tin counterpart of graphene, are investigated by means of density functional calculation with the observation of band gap opening and enhanced visible light response. The lattice mismatch between graphene and stanene is taken into consideration and several stacking methods for model construction are proposed to study the possible effects. The Dirac feature can be observed in this bilayer system with relatively stronger interlayer interaction than weak van der Waals forces, which is ascribed to the unsaturated p orbital of stanene. Despite the mutual semi-metal nature of graphene and stanene, it is significant to note a band gap opening and the electrical neutrality of the bilayer. The combination of high carrier mobility of graphene and the excellent spin Hall effect of stanene is expected to coexist in the bilayer structure. In addition, we found that the stanene monolayer has a relatively lower work function than graphene and more importantly, it exhibits more pronounced optical absorption than graphene. The results indicate that a graphene/stanene heterobilayer will facilitate the performance of stanene related spintronic devices and is therefore a good candidate for photoelectronic devices.

  8. Gate-defined quantum confinement in suspended bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allen, M. T.; Martin, J.; Yacoby, A.

    2012-07-01

    Quantum-confined devices that manipulate single electrons in graphene are emerging as attractive candidates for nanoelectronics applications. Previous experiments have employed etched graphene nanostructures, but edge and substrate disorder severely limit device functionality. Here we present a technique that builds quantum-confined structures in suspended bilayer graphene with tunnel barriers defined by external electric fields that open a bandgap, thereby eliminating both edge and substrate disorder. We report clean quantum dot formation in two regimes: at zero magnetic field B using the energy gap induced by a perpendicular electric field and at B>0 using the quantum Hall ν=0 gap for confinement. Coulomb blockade oscillations exhibit periodicity consistent with electrostatic simulations based on local top-gate geometry, a direct demonstration of local control over the band structure of graphene. This technology integrates single electron transport with high device quality and access to vibrational modes, enabling broad applications from electromechanical sensors to quantum bits.

  9. In silico free energy predictions for ionic liquid-assisted exfoliation of a graphene bilayer into individual graphene nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Kamath, Ganesh; Baker, Gary A

    2012-06-14

    Free energies for graphene exfoliation from bilayer graphene using ionic liquids based on various cations paired with the bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide anion were determined from adaptive bias force-molecular dynamics (ABF-MD) simulation and fall in excellent qualitative agreement with experiment. This method has notable potential as an a priori screening tool for performance based rank order prediction of novel ionic liquids for the dispersion and exfoliation of various nanocarbons and inorganic graphene analogues.

  10. Raman spectra of bilayer graphene covered with Poly(methyl methacrylate) thin film

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xia Minggang; Center on Experimental Physics, School of Science, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710049; Su Zhidan

    The Raman spectra of bilayer graphene covered with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were investigated. Both the G and 2D peaks of PMMA-coated graphene were stiff and broad compared with those of uncovered graphene. This could be attributed to the residual strain induced by high-temperature baking during fabrication of the nanodevice. Furthermore, the two 2D peaks stiffened and broadened with increasing laser power, which is just the reverse to uncovered graphene. The stiffness is likely caused by graphene compression induced by the circular bubble of the thin PMMA film generated by laser irradiation. Our findings may contribute to the application of PMMAmore » in the strain engineering of graphene nanodevices.« less

  11. Structural and electro-optical properties of bilayer graphyne like BN sheet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Behzad, Somayeh

    2016-12-01

    The structural, electronic and optical properties of bilayer graphyne like BN sheet (BNyne) with different stacking manners have been explored by the first-principles calculations. The stabilities of α-BNyne bilayers with different stacking manners are compared. The α-BNyne Bilayers have wide band gaps. Compared to the single α-BNyne, the numbers of energy bands are doubled due to the interlayer interactions and the band gap is reduced. The AB-I configuration has a direct band gap while the band gap becomes indirect for AA-II. The calculated ε2 (ω) of bilayer α-BNyne for (Eǁx) is similar to that of the monolayer α-BNyne, except for the small changes of peak positions and increasing of peak intensities. For (Eǁz), the first absorption peak occures at 3.86 eV, and the prominant peak of monolayer at 9.17 eV becomes broadened. These changes are related to the new transitions resulting from the band splitting.

  12. Chirality-induced magnon transport in AA-stacked bilayer honeycomb chiral magnets.

    PubMed

    Owerre, S A

    2016-11-30

    In this Letter, we study the magnetic transport in AA-stacked bilayer honeycomb chiral magnets coupled either ferromagnetically or antiferromagnetically. For both couplings, we observe chirality-induced gaps, chiral protected edge states, magnon Hall and magnon spin Nernst effects of magnetic spin excitations. For ferromagnetically coupled layers, thermal Hall and spin Nernst conductivities do not change sign as function of magnetic field or temperature similar to single-layer honeycomb ferromagnetic insulator. In contrast, for antiferromagnetically coupled layers, we observe a sign change in the thermal Hall and spin Nernst conductivities as the magnetic field is reversed. We discuss possible experimental accessible honeycomb bilayer quantum materials in which these effects can be observed.

  13. Porous Structures in Stacked, Crumpled and Pillared Graphene-Based 3D Materials.

    PubMed

    Guo, Fei; Creighton, Megan; Chen, Yantao; Hurt, Robert; Külaots, Indrek

    2014-01-01

    Graphene, an atomically thin material with the theoretical surface area of 2600 m 2 g -1 , has great potential in the fields of catalysis, separation, and gas storage if properly assembled into functional 3D materials at large scale. In ideal non-interacting ensembles of non-porous multilayer graphene plates, the surface area can be adequately estimated using the simple geometric law ~ 2600 m 2 g -1 /N, where N is the number of graphene sheets per plate. Some processing operations, however, lead to secondary plate-plate stacking, folding, crumpling or pillaring, which give rise to more complex structures. Here we show that bulk samples of multilayer graphene plates stack in an irregular fashion that preserves the 2600/N surface area and creates regular slot-like pores with sizes that are multiples of the unit plate thickness. In contrast, graphene oxide deposits into films with massive area loss (2600 to 40 m 2 g -1 ) due to nearly perfect alignment and stacking during the drying process. Pillaring graphene oxide sheets by co-deposition of colloidal-phase particle-based spacers has the potential to partially restore the large monolayer surface. Surface areas as high as 1000 m 2 g -1 are demonstrated here through colloidal-phase deposition of graphene oxide with water-dispersible aryl-sulfonated ultrafine carbon black as a pillaring agent.

  14. Quasi-free-standing bilayer epitaxial graphene field-effect transistors on 4H-SiC (0001) substrates

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yu, C.; Li, J.; Song, X. B.

    2016-01-04

    Quasi-free-standing epitaxial graphene grown on wide band gap semiconductor SiC demonstrates high carrier mobility and good material uniformity, which make it promising for graphene-based electronic devices. In this work, quasi-free-standing bilayer epitaxial graphene is prepared and its transistors with gate lengths of 100 nm and 200 nm are fabricated and characterized. The 100 nm gate length graphene transistor shows improved DC and RF performances including a maximum current density I{sub ds} of 4.2 A/mm, and a peak transconductance g{sub m} of 2880 mS/mm. Intrinsic current-gain cutoff frequency f{sub T} of 407 GHz is obtained. The exciting DC and RF performances obtained in the quasi-free-standingmore » bilayer epitaxial graphene transistor show the great application potential of this material system.« less

  15. Hexagonal boron nitride intercalated multi-layer graphene: a possible ultimate solution to ultra-scaled interconnect technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yong-Jun; Sun, Qing-Qing; Chen, Lin; Zhou, Peng; Wang, Peng-Fei; Ding, Shi-Jin; Zhang, David Wei

    2012-03-01

    We proposed intercalation of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in multilayer graphene to improve its performance in ultra-scaled interconnects for integrated circuit. The effect of intercalated hBN layer in bilayer graphene is investigated using non-equilibrium Green's functions. We find the hBN intercalated bilayer graphene exhibit enhanced transport properties compared with pristine bilayer ones, and the improvement is attributed to suppression of interlayer scattering and good planar bonding condition of inbetween hBN layer. Based on these results, we proposed a via structure that not only benefits from suppressed interlayer scattering between multilayer graphene, but also sustains the unique electrical properties of graphene when many graphene layers are stacking together. The ideal current density across the structure can be as high as 4.6×109 A/cm2 at 1V, which is very promising for the future high-performance interconnect.

  16. Incorporating isolated molybdenum (Mo) atoms into Bilayer Epitaxial Graphene on 4H-SiC(0001)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Han; Wan, Wen; Li, Hui; Wong, Swee Liang; Lv, Lu; Gao, Yongli; Wee, Andrew T. S.

    2014-03-01

    The atomic structures and electronic properties of isolated Mo atoms in bilayer epitaxial graphene (BLEG) on 4H-SiC(0001) are investigated by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (LT-STM). LT-STM results reveal that isolated Mo dopants prefer to substitute C atoms at α-sites, and preferentially locate between the graphene bilayers. First-principles calculations confirm that the embedding of single Mo dopants within BLEG is energetically favorable as compared to monolayer graphene. The calculated bandstructures show that Mo-doped BLEG is n-doped, and each Mo atom introduces a local magnetic moment of 1.81 μB. Our findings demonstrate a simple and stable method to incorporate single transition metal dopants into the graphene lattice to tune its electronic and magnetic properties for possible use in graphene spin devices. NRF-CRP (Singapore) grants R-143-000-360-281and R-144-000-295-281. ``Shenghua Professorship'' startup funding from CSU and the support from the NSF of China (Grant No.11304398).

  17. Splitting of Van Hove singularities in slightly twisted bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Si-Yu; Liu, Ke-Qin; Yin, Long-Jing; Wang, Wen-Xiao; Yan, Wei; Yang, Xu-Qin; Yang, Jun-Kai; Liu, Haiwen; Jiang, Hua; He, Lin

    2017-10-01

    A variety of new and interesting electronic properties have been predicted in graphene monolayer doped to Van Hove singularities (VHSs) of its density of state. However, tuning the Fermi energy to reach a VHS of graphene by either gating or chemical doping is prohibitively difficult, owing to their large energy distance (˜3 eV). This difficulty can be easily overcome in twisted bilayer graphene (TBG). By introducing a small twist angle between two adjacent graphene sheets, we are able to generate two low-energy VHSs arbitrarily approaching the Fermi energy. Here, we report experimental studies of electronic properties around the VHSs of a slightly TBG through scanning tunneling microscopy measurements. The split of the VHSs is observed and the spatial symmetry breaking of electronic states around the VHSs is directly visualized. These exotic results provide motivation for further theoretical and experimental studies of graphene systems around the VHSs.

  18. Invited Article: Narrowband terahertz bandpass filters employing stacked bilayer metasurface antireflection structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, Chun-Chieh; Huang, Li; Nogan, John; Chen, Hou-Tong

    2018-05-01

    We experimentally demonstrate high-performance narrowband terahertz (THz) bandpass filters through cascading multiple bilayer metasurface antireflection structures. Each bilayer metasurface, consisting of a square array of silicon pillars with a self-aligned top gold resonator-array and a complementary bottom gold slot-array, enables near-zero reflection and simultaneously close-to-unity single-band transmission at designed operational frequencies in the THz spectral region. The THz bandpass filters based on stacked bilayer metasurfaces allow a fairly narrow, high-transmission passband, and a fast roll-off to an extremely clean background outside the passband, thereby providing superior bandpass performance. The demonstrated scheme of narrowband THz bandpass filtering is of great importance for a variety of applications where spectrally clean, high THz transmission over a narrow bandwidth is desired, such as THz spectroscopy and imaging, molecular detection and monitoring, security screening, and THz wireless communications.

  19. Terahertz conductivity of twisted bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chia, Elbert E. M.; Zou, Xingquan; Shang, Jingzhi; Leaw, Jianing; Luo, Zhiqiang; Luo, Liyan; Cheong, Siew Ann; Su, Haibin; Zhu, Jian-Xin; Castro Neto, A. H.; Yu, Ting

    2013-03-01

    Using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, the real part of optical conductivity [σ1 (ω) ] of twisted bilayer graphene was obtained at different temperatures (10 - 300 K) in the frequency range 0.3 - 3 THz. On top of a Drude-like response, we see a strong and narrow peak in σ1 (ω) at ~2.7 THz. We analyze the overall Drude-like response using a disorder-dependent (unitary scattering) model, then attribute the peak at 2.7 THz to an enhanced density of states at that energy, that is caused by the presence of van Hove singularities arising from a commensurate twisting of the two graphene layers. Singapore MOE AcRF Tier 2 (ARC 23/08), NRF-CRP (NRF-CRP4-2008-04), NNSA of the U.S. DOE at LANL (DE-AC52-06NA25396), LANL LDRD Program, NRF-CRP (R-144-000-295-281), DOE DE-FG02-08ER46512, ONR MURI N00014-09-1-1063.

  20. Investigation of multilayer domains in large-scale CVD monolayer graphene by optical imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Yuanfang; Li, Zhenzhen; Wang, Wenhui; Guo, Xitao; Jiang, Jie; Nan, Haiyan; Ni, Zhenhua

    2017-03-01

    CVD graphene is a promising candidate for optoelectronic applications due to its high quality and high yield. However, multi-layer domains could inevitably form at the nucleation centers during the growth. Here, we propose an optical imaging technique to precisely identify the multilayer domains and also the ratio of their coverage in large-scale CVD monolayer graphene. We have also shown that the stacking disorder in twisted bilayer graphene as well as the impurities on the graphene surface could be distinguished by optical imaging. Finally, we investigated the effects of bilayer domains on the optical and electrical properties of CVD graphene, and found that the carrier mobility of CVD graphene is seriously limited by scattering from bilayer domains. Our results could be useful for guiding future optoelectronic applications of large-scale CVD graphene. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61422503, 61376104), the Open Research Funds of Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education (SEU, China), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

  1. Aharonov-Bohm effect in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, Chang-Soo

    2017-06-01

    We investigate Aharonov-Bohm effect in bilayer graphene. We consider a setup of n- p (n‧)-n junction with Aharonov-Bohm loop connected in the transmission region. In the presence of trigonal warping we show that, due to the anisotropic dispersion of eigenspectrum, the Aharonov-Bohm interference depends on the geometry of junction: it exists for armchair interface but vanishes for zigzag interface. For the armchair interface, it is demonstrated that the period of Aharonov-Bohm oscillation is Φ0 = h / e and the amplitude of oscillation can be varied with incident energy and the barrier height of the junction.

  2. Ultrafast carrier dynamics in bilayer graphene studied by broadband infrared pump-probe spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Limmer, Thomas; da Como, Enrico; Niggebaum, Alexander; Feldmann, Jochen

    2010-03-01

    Recently, bilayer graphene gained a large interest because of its electrically tunable gap appearing in the middle infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. This feature is expected to open a number of applications of bilayer graphene in optoelectronics. In this communication we report on the first pump-probe experiment on a single bilayer flake with an unprecedented probe photon energy interval (0.25 -- 1.3 eV). Single flakes were prepared by mechanical exfoliation of graphite and transferred to calcium fluoride substrates. When illuminated with 800 nm (1.5 eV) pump pulses the induced change in transmission shows an ultrafast saturation of the interband transitions from 1.3 to 0.5 eV. In this energy range the saturation recovery occurs within 3 ps and is consistent with an ultrafast relaxation of hot carriers. Interestingly, we report on the observation of a resonance at 0.4 eV characterized by a longer dynamics. The results are discussed considering many-body interactions.

  3. Nucleation of uniform mono- and bilayer epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Xiaosong; Zhang, Rui; Dong, Yunliang; Guo, Shuai; Kong, Wenjie; Liao, Zhimin; Yu, Dapeng

    2012-02-01

    Early stage of epitaxial graphene growth on SiC(0001) has been investigated. Using the confinement controlled sublimation (CCS) method, we has achieved well controlled growth and been able to see the formation of mono- and bilayer graphene islands. The growth features reveal the intriguing growth mechanism. In particular, a new ``stepdown'' growth mode has been identified. Graphene can propagate tens of micrometers across many SiC steps, while, most importantly, step bunching is avoided and the initial regular stepped SiC surface morphology is preserved. The stepdown growth demonstrates a route towards uniform epitaxial graphene in wafer size without sacrificing the initial substrate surface morphology.

  4. Bilayer insulator tunnel barriers for graphene-based vertical hot-electron transistors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vaziri, S.; Belete, M.; Dentoni Litta, E.; Smith, A. D.; Lupina, G.; Lemme, M. C.; Östling, M.

    2015-07-01

    Vertical graphene-based device concepts that rely on quantum mechanical tunneling are intensely being discussed in the literature for applications in electronics and optoelectronics. In this work, the carrier transport mechanisms in semiconductor-insulator-graphene (SIG) capacitors are investigated with respect to their suitability as electron emitters in vertical graphene base transistors (GBTs). Several dielectric materials as tunnel barriers are compared, including dielectric double layers. Using bilayer dielectrics, we experimentally demonstrate significant improvements in the electron injection current by promoting Fowler-Nordheim tunneling (FNT) and step tunneling (ST) while suppressing defect mediated carrier transport. High injected tunneling current densities approaching 103 A cm-2 (limited by series resistance), and excellent current-voltage nonlinearity and asymmetry are achieved using a 1 nm thick high quality dielectric, thulium silicate (TmSiO), as the first insulator layer, and titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a high electron affinity second layer insulator. We also confirm the feasibility and effectiveness of our approach in a full GBT structure which shows dramatic improvement in the collector on-state current density with respect to the previously reported GBTs. The device design and the fabrication scheme have been selected with future CMOS process compatibility in mind. This work proposes a bilayer tunnel barrier approach as a promising candidate to be used in high performance vertical graphene-based tunneling devices.

  5. Conjugated π electron engineering of generalized stacking fault in graphene and h-BN.

    PubMed

    Ouyang, Bin; Chen, Cheng; Song, J

    2018-03-02

    Generalized-stacking-fault energy (GSFE) serves as an important metric that prescribes dislocation behaviors in materials. In this paper, utilizing first-principle calculations and chemical bonding analysis, we studied the behaviors of generalized stacking fault in graphene and h-BN. It has been shown that the π bond formation plays a critical role in the existence of metastable stacking fault (MSF) in graphene and h-BN lattice along certain slip directions. Chemical functionalization was then proposed as an effective means to engineer the π bond, and subsequently MSF along dislocation slips within graphene and h-BN. Taking hydrogenation as a representative functionalization method, we demonstrated that, with the preferential adsorption of hydrogen along the slip line, π electrons along the slip would be saturated by adsorbed hydrogen atoms, leading to the moderation or elimination of MSF. Our study elucidates the atomic mechanism of MSF formation in graphene-like materials, and more generally, provides important insights towards predictive tuning of mechanic properties in two-dimensional nanomaterials.

  6. Conjugated π electron engineering of generalized stacking fault in graphene and h-BN

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ouyang, Bin; Chen, Cheng; Song, J.

    2018-03-01

    Generalized-stacking-fault energy (GSFE) serves as an important metric that prescribes dislocation behaviors in materials. In this paper, utilizing first-principle calculations and chemical bonding analysis, we studied the behaviors of generalized stacking fault in graphene and h-BN. It has been shown that the π bond formation plays a critical role in the existence of metastable stacking fault (MSF) in graphene and h-BN lattice along certain slip directions. Chemical functionalization was then proposed as an effective means to engineer the π bond, and subsequently MSF along dislocation slips within graphene and h-BN. Taking hydrogenation as a representative functionalization method, we demonstrated that, with the preferential adsorption of hydrogen along the slip line, π electrons along the slip would be saturated by adsorbed hydrogen atoms, leading to the moderation or elimination of MSF. Our study elucidates the atomic mechanism of MSF formation in graphene-like materials, and more generally, provides important insights towards predictive tuning of mechanic properties in two-dimensional nanomaterials.

  7. Emergent Electromagnetism in Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Winkler, Roland; Zülicke, Ulrich

    2013-03-01

    Recently atomically flat layers of carbon known as graphene have become the rising star in spintronics as their electrons carry not only the ordinary spin degree of freedom, but they also have a pseudospin degree of freedom tied to the electrons' orbital motion which could enable new routes for spintronics. Here we focus on bilayer graphene (BLG). Using group theory we have established a complete description of how electrons in BLG interact with electric and magnetic fields. We show that electrons in BLG experience an unusual type of matter-field interactions where magnetic and electric fields are virtually equivalent: every coupling of an electron's degrees of freedom to a magnetic field is matched by an analogous coupling of the same degrees of freedom to an electric field. This counter-intuitive duality of matter-field interactions allows novel ways to create and manipulate spin and pseudo-spin polarizations via external fields that are not available in other materials. See arXiv:1206.4761. This work was supported by Marsden Fund contract no. VUW0719, administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand. Work at Argonne was supported by DOE BES under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

  8. Invited Article: Narrowband terahertz bandpass filters employing stacked bilayer metasurface antireflection structures

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chang, Chun-Chieh; Huang, Li; Nogan, John

    We experimentally demonstrate high-performance narrowband terahertz (THz) bandpass filters through cascading multiple bilayer metasurface antireflection structures. Each bilayer metasurface, consisting of a square array of silicon pillars with a self-aligned top gold resonator-array and a complementary bottom gold slot-array, enables near-zero reflection and simultaneously close-to-unity single-band transmission at designed operational frequencies in the THz spectral region. The THz bandpass filters based on stacked bilayer metasurfaces allow a fairly narrow, high-transmission passband, and a fast roll-off to an extremely clean background outside the passband, thereby providing superior bandpass performance. The demonstrated scheme of narrowband THz bandpass filtering is of great importancemore » for a variety of applications where spectrally clean, high THz transmission over a narrow bandwidth is desired, such as THz spectroscopy and imaging, molecular detection and monitoring, security screening, and THz wireless communications.« less

  9. Invited Article: Narrowband terahertz bandpass filters employing stacked bilayer metasurface antireflection structures

    DOE PAGES

    Chang, Chun-Chieh; Huang, Li; Nogan, John; ...

    2018-02-01

    We experimentally demonstrate high-performance narrowband terahertz (THz) bandpass filters through cascading multiple bilayer metasurface antireflection structures. Each bilayer metasurface, consisting of a square array of silicon pillars with a self-aligned top gold resonator-array and a complementary bottom gold slot-array, enables near-zero reflection and simultaneously close-to-unity single-band transmission at designed operational frequencies in the THz spectral region. The THz bandpass filters based on stacked bilayer metasurfaces allow a fairly narrow, high-transmission passband, and a fast roll-off to an extremely clean background outside the passband, thereby providing superior bandpass performance. The demonstrated scheme of narrowband THz bandpass filtering is of great importancemore » for a variety of applications where spectrally clean, high THz transmission over a narrow bandwidth is desired, such as THz spectroscopy and imaging, molecular detection and monitoring, security screening, and THz wireless communications.« less

  10. Band engineering in twisted molybdenum disulfide bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Yipeng; Liao, Chengwei; Ouyang, Gang

    2018-05-01

    In order to explore the theoretical relationship between interlayer spacing, interaction and band offset at the atomic level in vertically stacked two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) structures, we propose an analytical model to address the evolution of interlayer vdW coupling with random stacking configurations in MoS2 bilayers based on the atomic-bond-relaxation correlation mechanism. We found that interlayer spacing changes substantially with respect to the orientations, and the bandgap increases from 1.53 eV (AB stacking) to 1.68 eV (AA stacking). Our results reveal that the evolution of interlayer vdW coupling originates from the interlayer interaction, leading to interlayer separations and electronic properties changing with stacking configurations. Our predictions constitute a demonstration of twist engineering the band shift in the emergent class of 2D crystals, transition-metal dichalcogenides.

  11. Strongly Enhanced Tunneling at Total Charge Neutrality in Double-Bilayer Graphene-WSe_{2} Heterostructures.

    PubMed

    Burg, G William; Prasad, Nitin; Kim, Kyounghwan; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; MacDonald, Allan H; Register, Leonard F; Tutuc, Emanuel

    2018-04-27

    We report the experimental observation of strongly enhanced tunneling between graphene bilayers through a WSe_{2} barrier when the graphene bilayers are populated with carriers of opposite polarity and equal density. The enhanced tunneling increases sharply in strength with decreasing temperature, and the tunneling current exhibits a vertical onset as a function of interlayer voltage at a temperature of 1.5 K. The strongly enhanced tunneling at overall neutrality departs markedly from single-particle model calculations that otherwise match the measured tunneling current-voltage characteristics well, and suggests the emergence of a many-body state with condensed interbilayer excitons when electrons and holes of equal densities populate the two layers.

  12. Strongly Enhanced Tunneling at Total Charge Neutrality in Double-Bilayer Graphene-WSe2 Heterostructures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Burg, G. William; Prasad, Nitin; Kim, Kyounghwan; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; MacDonald, Allan H.; Register, Leonard F.; Tutuc, Emanuel

    2018-04-01

    We report the experimental observation of strongly enhanced tunneling between graphene bilayers through a WSe2 barrier when the graphene bilayers are populated with carriers of opposite polarity and equal density. The enhanced tunneling increases sharply in strength with decreasing temperature, and the tunneling current exhibits a vertical onset as a function of interlayer voltage at a temperature of 1.5 K. The strongly enhanced tunneling at overall neutrality departs markedly from single-particle model calculations that otherwise match the measured tunneling current-voltage characteristics well, and suggests the emergence of a many-body state with condensed interbilayer excitons when electrons and holes of equal densities populate the two layers.

  13. Graphene Monoxide Bilayer As a High-Performance on/off Switching Media for Nanoelectronics.

    PubMed

    Woo, Jungwook; Yun, Kyung-Han; Chung, Yong-Chae

    2016-04-27

    The geometries and electronic characteristics of the graphene monoxide (GMO) bilayer are predicted via density functional theory (DFT) calculations. All the possible sequences of the GMO bilayer show the typical interlayer bonding characteristics of two-dimensional bilayer systems with a weak van der Waals interaction. The band gap energies of the GMO bilayers are predicted to be adequate for electronic device application, indicating slightly smaller energy gaps (0.418-0.448 eV) compared to the energy gap of the monolayer (0.536 eV). Above all, in light of the band gap engineering, the band gap of the GMO bilayer responds to the external electric field sensitively. As a result, a semiconductor-metal transition occurs at a small critical electric field (EC = 0.22-0.30 V/Å). It is therefore confirmed that the GMO bilayer is a strong candidate for nanoelectronics.

  14. Fabry-Pérot Interference in Gapped Bilayer Graphene with Broken Anti-Klein Tunneling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Varlet, Anastasia; Liu, Ming-Hao; Krueckl, Viktor; Bischoff, Dominik; Simonet, Pauline; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Richter, Klaus; Ensslin, Klaus; Ihn, Thomas

    2014-09-01

    We report the experimental observation of Fabry-Pérot interference in the conductance of a gate-defined cavity in a dual-gated bilayer graphene device. The high quality of the bilayer graphene flake, combined with the device's electrical robustness provided by the encapsulation between two hexagonal boron nitride layers, allows us to observe ballistic phase-coherent transport through a 1-μm-long cavity. We confirm the origin of the observed interference pattern by comparing to tight-binding calculations accounting for the gate-tunable band gap. The good agreement between experiment and theory, free of tuning parameters, further verifies that a gap opens in our device. The gap is shown to destroy the perfect reflection for electrons traversing the barrier with normal incidence (anti-Klein tunneling). The broken anti-Klein tunneling implies that the Berry phase, which is found to vary with the gate voltages, is always involved in the Fabry-Pérot oscillations regardless of the magnetic field, in sharp contrast with single-layer graphene.

  15. Ab initio study of the electron energy loss function in a graphene-sapphire-graphene composite system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Despoja, Vito; Djordjević, Tijana; Karbunar, Lazar; Radović, Ivan; Mišković, Zoran L.

    2017-08-01

    The propagator of a dynamically screened Coulomb interaction W in a sandwichlike structure consisting of two graphene layers separated by a slab of Al2O3 (or vacuum) is derived from single-layer graphene response functions and by using a local dielectric function for the bulk Al2O3 . The response function of graphene is obtained using two approaches within the random phase approximation (RPA): an ab initio method that includes all electronic bands in graphene and a computationally less demanding method based on the massless Dirac fermion (MDF) approximation for the low-energy excitations of electrons in the π bands. The propagator W is used to derive an expression for the effective dielectric function of our sandwich structure, which is relevant for the reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy of its surface. Focusing on the range of frequencies from THz to mid-infrared, special attention is paid to finding an accurate optical limit in the ab initio method, where the response function is expressed in terms of a frequency-dependent conductivity of graphene. It was shown that the optical limit suffices for describing hybridization between the Dirac plasmons in graphene layers and the Fuchs-Kliewer phonons in both surfaces of the Al2O3 slab, and that the spectra obtained from both the ab initio method and the MDF approximation in the optical limit agree perfectly well for wave numbers up to about 0.1 nm-1. Going beyond the optical limit, the agreement between the full ab initio method and the MDF approximation was found to extend to wave numbers up to about 0.3 nm-1 for doped graphene layers with the Fermi energy of 0.2 eV.

  16. Structural and electron diffraction scaling of twisted graphene bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Kuan; Tadmor, Ellad B.

    2018-03-01

    Multiscale simulations are used to study the structural relaxation in twisted graphene bilayers and the associated electron diffraction patterns. The initial twist forms an incommensurate moiré pattern that relaxes to a commensurate microstructure comprised of a repeating pattern of alternating low-energy AB and BA domains surrounding a high-energy AA domain. The simulations show that the relaxation mechanism involves a localized rotation and shrinking of the AA domains that scales in two regimes with the imposed twist. For small twisting angles, the localized rotation tends to a constant; for large twist, the rotation scales linearly with it. This behavior is tied to the inverse scaling of the moiré pattern size with twist angle and is explained theoretically using a linear elasticity model. The results are validated experimentally through a simulated electron diffraction analysis of the relaxed structures. A complex electron diffraction pattern involving the appearance of weak satellite peaks is predicted for the small twist regime. This new diffraction pattern is explained using an analytical model in which the relaxation kinematics are described as an exponentially-decaying (Gaussian) rotation field centered on the AA domains. Both the angle-dependent scaling and diffraction patterns are in quantitative agreement with experimental observations. A Matlab program for extracting the Gaussian model parameters accompanies this paper.

  17. Intercalation of Transition Metals into Stacked Benzene Rings: A Model Study of the Intercalation of Transition Metals into Bilayered Graphene.

    PubMed

    Youn, Il Seung; Kim, Dong Young; Singh, N Jiten; Park, Sung Woo; Youn, Jihee; Kim, Kwang S

    2012-01-10

    Structures of neutral metal-dibenzene complexes, M(C6H6)2 (M = Sc-Zn), are investigated by using Møller-Plesset second order perturbation theory (MP2). The benzene molecules change their conformation and shape upon complexation with the transition metals. We find two types of structures: (i) stacked forms for early transition metal complexes and (ii) distorted forms for late transition metal ones. The benzene molecules and the metal atom are bound together by δ bonds which originate from the interaction of π-MOs and d orbitals. The binding energy shows a maximum for Cr(C6H6)2, which obeys the 18-electron rule. It is noticeable that Mn(C6H6)2, a 19-electron complex, manages to have a stacked structure with an excess electron delocalized. For other late transition metal complexes having more than 19 electrons, the benzene molecules are bent or stray away from each other to reduce the electron density around a metal atom. For the early transition metals, the M(C6H6) complexes are found to be more weakly bound than M(C6H6)2. This is because the M(C6H6) complexes do not have enough electrons to satisfy the 18-electron rule, and so the M(C6H6)2 complexes generally tend to have tighter binding with a shorter benzene-metal length than the M(C6H6) complexes, which is quite unusual. The present results could provide a possible explanation of why on the Ni surface graphene tends to grow in a few layers, while on the Cu surface the weak interaction between the copper surface and graphene allows for the formation of a single layer of graphene, in agreement with chemical vapor deposition experiments.

  18. Nanocarbon: Defect Architectures and Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vuong, Amanda

    The allotropes of carbon make its solid phases amongst the most diverse of any element. It can occur naturally as graphite and diamond, which have very different properties that make them suitable for a wide range of technological and commercial purposes. Recent developments in synthetic carbon include Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG) and nano-carbons, such as fullerenes, nanotubes and graphene. The main industrial application of bulk graphite is as an electrode material in steel production, but in purified nuclear graphite form, it is also used as a moderator in Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors across the United Kingdom. Both graphene and graphite are damaged over time when subjected to bombardment by electrons, neutrons or ions, and these have a wide range of effects on their physical and electrical properties, depending on the radiation flux and temperature. This research focuses on intrinsic defects in graphene and dimensional change in nuclear graphite. The method used here is computational chemistry, which complements physical experiments. Techniques used comprise of density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD), which are discussed in chapter 2 and chapter 3, respectively. The succeeding chapters describe the results of simulations performed to model defects in graphene and graphite. Chapter 4 presents the results of ab initio DFT calculations performed to investigate vacancy complexes that are formed in AA stacked bilayer graphene. In AB stacking, carbon atoms surrounding the lattice vacancies can form interlayer structures with sp2 bonding that are lower in energy compared to in-plane reconstructions. From the investigation of AA stacking, sp2 interlayer bonding of adjacent multivacancy defects in registry creates a type of stable sp2 bonded wormhole between the layers. Also, a new class of mezzanine structure characterised by sp3 interlayer bonding, resembling a prismatic vacancy loop has also been identified. The mezzanine, which is a

  19. Raman spectroscopy measurement of bilayer graphene's twist angle to boron nitride

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cheng, Bin; Wang, Peng; Pan, Cheng

    2015-07-20

    When graphene is placed on hexagonal boron nitride with a twist angle, new properties develop due to the resulting moiré superlattice. Here, we report a method using Raman spectroscopy to make rapid, non-destructive measurements of the twist angle between bilayer graphene and hexagonal boron nitride. The lattice orientation is determined by using flakes with both bilayer and monolayer regions, and using the known Raman signature for the monolayer to measure the twist angle of the entire flake. The widths of the second order Raman peaks are found to vary linearly in the superlattice period and are used to determine themore » twist angle. The results are confirmed by using transport measurements to infer the superlattice period by the charge density required to reach the secondary resistance peaks. Small twist angles are also found to produce a significant modification of the first order Raman G band peak.« less

  20. Stacked bilayer phosphorene: strain-induced quantum spin Hall state and optical measurement

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Tian; Lin, Jia-He; Yu, Yan-Mei; Chen, Xiang-Rong; Liu, Wu-Ming

    2015-01-01

    Bilayer phosphorene attracted considerable interest, giving a potential application in nanoelectronics owing to its natural bandgap and high carrier mobility. However, very little is known regarding the possible usefulness in spintronics as a quantum spin Hall (QSH) state of material characterized by a bulk energy gap and gapless spin-filtered edge states. Here, we report a strain-induced topological phase transition from normal to QSH state in bilayer phosphorene, accompanied by band-inversion that changes number from 0 to 1, which is highly dependent on interlayer stacking. When the bottom layer is shifted by 1/2 unit-cell along zigzag/armchair direction with respect to the top layer, the maximum topological bandgap 92.5 meV is sufficiently large to realize QSH effect even at room-temperature. An optical measurement of QSH effect is therefore suggested in view of the wide optical absorption spectrum extending to far infra-red, making bilayer phosphorene a promising candidate for opto-spintronic devices. PMID:26370771

  1. Twisted bilayer graphene photoluminescence emission peaks at van Hove singularities.

    PubMed

    Alencar, Thonimar V; von Dreifus, Driele; Gabriela Cota Moreira, Maria; Eliel, Gomes S N; Yeh, Chao-Hui; Chiu, Po-Wen; Pimenta, Marcos A; Malard, Leandro M; Maria de Paula, Ana

    2018-05-02

    We report on photoluminescence emission imaging by femtosecond laser excitation on twisted bilayer graphene samples. The emission images are obtained by tuning the excitation laser energies in the near infrared region. We demonstrate an increase of the photoluminescence emission at excitation energies that depends on the bilayer twist angle. The results show a peak for the light emission when the excitation is in resonance with transitions at the van Hove singularities in the electronic density of states. We measured the photoluminescence excitation peak position and width for samples with various twist angles showing resonances in the energy range of 1.2 to 1.7 eV.

  2. Twisted bilayer graphene photoluminescence emission peaks at van Hove singularities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alencar, Thonimar V.; von Dreifus, Driele; Cota Moreira, Maria Gabriela; Eliel, Gomes S. N.; Yeh, Chao-Hui; Chiu, Po-Wen; Pimenta, Marcos A.; Malard, Leandro M.; de Paula, Ana Maria

    2018-05-01

    We report on photoluminescence emission imaging by femtosecond laser excitation on twisted bilayer graphene samples. The emission images are obtained by tuning the excitation laser energies in the near infrared region. We demonstrate an increase of the photoluminescence emission at excitation energies that depends on the bilayer twist angle. The results show a peak for the light emission when the excitation is in resonance with transitions at the van Hove singularities in the electronic density of states. We measured the photoluminescence excitation peak position and width for samples with various twist angles showing resonances in the energy range of 1.2 to 1.7 eV.

  3. Helical edge states and fractional quantum Hall effect in a graphene electron-hole bilayer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sanchez-Yamagishi, Javier D.; Luo, Jason Y.; Young, Andrea F.; Hunt, Benjamin M.; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Ashoori, Raymond C.; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo

    2017-02-01

    Helical 1D electronic systems are a promising route towards realizing circuits of topological quantum states that exhibit non-Abelian statistics. Here, we demonstrate a versatile platform to realize 1D systems made by combining quantum Hall (QH) edge states of opposite chiralities in a graphene electron-hole bilayer at moderate magnetic fields. Using this approach, we engineer helical 1D edge conductors where the counterpropagating modes are localized in separate electron and hole layers by a tunable electric field. These helical conductors exhibit strong non-local transport signals and suppressed backscattering due to the opposite spin polarizations of the counterpropagating modes. Unlike other approaches used for realizing helical states, the graphene electron-hole bilayer can be used to build new 1D systems incorporating fractional edge states. Indeed, we are able to tune the bilayer devices into a regime hosting fractional and integer edge states of opposite chiralities, paving the way towards 1D helical conductors with fractional quantum statistics.

  4. Structure and magnetic properties of mono- and bi-layer graphene films on ultraprecision figured 4H-SiC(0001) surfaces.

    PubMed

    Hattori, Azusa N; Okamoto, Takeshi; Sadakuni, Shun; Murata, Junji; Oi, Hideo; Arima, Kenta; Sano, Yasuhisa; Hattori, Ken; Daimon, Hiroshi; Endo, Katsuyoshi; Yamauchi, Kazuto

    2011-04-01

    Monolayer and bilayer graphene films with a few hundred nm domain size were grown on ultraprecision figured 4H-SiC(0001) on-axis and 8 degrees -off surfaces by annealing in ultra-high vacuum. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy, reflection high-energy electron diffraction, low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), Raman spectroscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy, we investigated the structure, number of graphene layers, and chemical bonding of the graphene surfaces. Moreover, the magnetic property of the monolayer graphene was studied using in-situ surface magneto-optic Kerr effect at 40 K. LEED spots intensity distribution and XPS spectra for monolayer and bilayer graphene films could become an obvious and accurate fingerprint for the determination of graphene film thickness on SiC surface.

  5. Large-scale uniform bilayer graphene prepared by vacuum graphitization of 6H-SiC(0001) substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Qingyan; Zhang, Wenhao; Wang, Lili; He, Ke; Ma, Xucun; Xue, Qikun

    2013-03-01

    We report on the preparation of large-scale uniform bilayer graphenes on nominally flat Si-polar 6H-SiC(0001) substrates by flash annealing in ultrahigh vacuum. The resulting graphenes have a single thickness of one bilayer and consist of regular terraces separated by the triple SiC bilayer steps on the 6H-SiC(0001) substrates. In situ scanning tunneling microscopy reveals that suppression of pit formation on terraces and uniformity of SiC decomposition at step edges are the key factors to the uniform thickness. By studying the surface morphologies prepared under different annealing rates, it is found that the annealing rate is directly related to SiC decomposition, diffusion of the released Si/C atoms and strain relaxation, which together determine the final step structure and density of defects.

  6. Large-scale uniform bilayer graphene prepared by vacuum graphitization of 6H-SiC(0001) substrates.

    PubMed

    Wang, Qingyan; Zhang, Wenhao; Wang, Lili; He, Ke; Ma, Xucun; Xue, Qikun

    2013-03-06

    We report on the preparation of large-scale uniform bilayer graphenes on nominally flat Si-polar 6H-SiC(0001) substrates by flash annealing in ultrahigh vacuum. The resulting graphenes have a single thickness of one bilayer and consist of regular terraces separated by the triple SiC bilayer steps on the 6H-SiC(0001) substrates. In situ scanning tunneling microscopy reveals that suppression of pit formation on terraces and uniformity of SiC decomposition at step edges are the key factors to the uniform thickness. By studying the surface morphologies prepared under different annealing rates, it is found that the annealing rate is directly related to SiC decomposition, diffusion of the released Si/C atoms and strain relaxation, which together determine the final step structure and density of defects.

  7. Layer Number and Stacking Order Imaging of Few-layer Graphenes by Transmission Electron Microscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ping, Jinglei; Fuhrer, Michael

    2012-02-01

    A method using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns and dark field (DF) images is developed to identify graphene layer number and stacking order by comparing intensity ratios of SAED spots with theory. Graphene samples are synthesized by ambient pressure chemical vapor depostion and then etched by hydrogen in high temperature to produce samples with crystalline stacking but varying layer number on the nanometer scale. Combined DF images from first- and second-order diffraction spots are used to produce images with layer-number and stacking-order contrast with few-nanometer resolution. This method is proved to be accurate enough for quantative stacking-order-identification of graphenes up to at least four layers. This work was partially supported by Science of Precision Multifunctional Nanostructures for Elecrical Energy Storage, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. DOE, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Award Number DESC0001160.

  8. A theoretical study of symmetry-breaking organic overlayers on single- and bi-layer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morales-Cifuentes, Josue; Einstein, T. L.

    2013-03-01

    An ``overlayer'' of molecules that breaks the AB symmetry of graphene can produce (modify) a band gap in single- (bi-) layer graphene.[2] Since the triangular shaped trimesic acid (TMA) molecule forms two familiar symmetry breaking configurations, we are motivated to model TMA physisorption on graphene surfaces in conjunction with experiments by Groce et al. at UMD. Using VASP, with ab initio van der Waals density functionals (vdW-DF), we simulate adsorption of TMA onto a graphene surface in several symmetry-breaking arrangements in order to predict/understand the effect of TMA adsorption on experimental observables. Supported by NSF-MRSEC Grant DMR 05-20471.

  9. Selective area growth of Bernal bilayer epitaxial graphene on 4H-SiC (0001) substrate by electron-beam irradiation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dharmaraj, P.; Jeganathan, K., E-mail: kjeganathan@yahoo.com; Parthiban, S.

    We report selective area growth of large area homogeneous Bernal stacked bilayer epitaxial graphene (BLEG) on 4H-SiC (0001) substrate by electron-beam irradiation. Sublimation of Si occurs by energetic electron irradiations on SiC surface via breaking of Si–C bonds in the localized region, which allows the selective growth of graphene. Raman measurements ensure the formation of homogeneous BLEG with weak compressive strain of −0.08%. The carrier mobility of large area BLEG is ∼5100 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} with a sheet carrier density of 2.2 × 10{sup 13} cm{sup −2}. Current-voltage measurements reveal that BLEG on 4H-SiC forms a Schottky junction with an operation at mAmore » level. Our study reveals that the barrier height at the Schottky junction is low (∼0.58 eV) due to the Fermi-level pinning above the Dirac point.« less

  10. Hybrid matrix method for stable numerical analysis of the propagation of Dirac electrons in gapless bilayer graphene superlattices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Briones-Torres, J. A.; Pernas-Salomón, R.; Pérez-Álvarez, R.; Rodríguez-Vargas, I.

    2016-05-01

    Gapless bilayer graphene (GBG), like monolayer graphene, is a material system with unique properties, such as anti-Klein tunneling and intrinsic Fano resonances. These properties rely on the gapless parabolic dispersion relation and the chiral nature of bilayer graphene electrons. In addition, propagating and evanescent electron states coexist inherently in this material, giving rise to these exotic properties. In this sense, bilayer graphene is unique, since in most material systems in which Fano resonance phenomena are manifested an external source that provides extended states is required. However, from a numerical standpoint, the presence of evanescent-divergent states in the eigenfunctions linear superposition representing the Dirac spinors, leads to a numerical degradation (the so called Ωd problem) in the practical applications of the standard Coefficient Transfer Matrix (K) method used to study charge transport properties in Bilayer Graphene based multi-barrier systems. We present here a straightforward procedure based in the hybrid compliance-stiffness matrix method (H) that can overcome this numerical degradation. Our results show that in contrast to standard matrix method, the proposed H method is suitable to study the transmission and transport properties of electrons in GBG superlattice since it remains numerically stable regardless the size of the superlattice and the range of values taken by the input parameters: the energy and angle of the incident electrons, the barrier height and the thickness and number of barriers. We show that the matrix determinant can be used as a test of the numerical accuracy in real calculations.

  11. Adsorption configurations and scanning voltage determined STM images of small hydrogen clusters on bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Cao, Teng Fei; Huang, Liang Feng; Zheng, Xiao Hong; Zhou, Wang Huai; Zeng, Zhi

    2013-11-21

    By density functional theory calculations, the scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images of various hydrogen clusters adsorbed on bilayer-graphene are systematically simulated. The hydrogen configurations of the STM images observed in the experiments have been thoroughly figured out. In particular, two kinds of hydrogen dimers (ortho-dimer, para-dimer) and two kinds of tetramers (tetramer-A, -B) are determined to be the hydrogen configurations corresponding to the ellipsoidal-like STM images with different structures and sizes. One particular hexamer (hexamer-B) is the hydrogen configuration generating the star-like STM images. For each hydrogen cluster, the simulated STM images show unique voltage-dependent features, which provides a feasible way to determine hydrogen adsorption states on graphene or graphite surface in the experiments by varying-voltage measurements. Stability analysis proves that the above determined hydrogen configurations are quite stable on graphene, hence they are likely to be detected in the STM experiments. Consequently, through systematic analysis of the STM images and the stability of hydrogen clusters on bilayer graphene, many experimental observations have been consistently explained.

  12. Electronic, Mechanical, and Dielectric Properties of Two-Dimensional Atomic Layers of Noble Metals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kapoor, Pooja; Kumar, Jagdish; Kumar, Arun; Kumar, Ashok; Ahluwalia, P. K.

    2017-01-01

    We present density functional theory-based electronic, mechanical, and dielectric properties of monolayers and bilayers of noble metals (Au, Ag, Cu, and Pt) taken with graphene-like hexagonal structure. The Au, Ag, and Pt bilayers stabilize in AA-stacked configuration, while the Cu bilayer favors the AB stacking pattern. The quantum ballistic conductance of the noble-metal mono- and bilayers is remarkably increased compared with their bulk counterparts. Among the studied systems, the tensile strength is found to be highest for the Pt monolayer and bilayer. The noble metals in mono- and bilayer form show distinctly different electron energy loss spectra and reflectance spectra due to the quantum confinement effect on going from bulk to the monolayer limit. Such tunability of the electronic and dielectric properties of noble metals by reducing the degrees of freedom of electrons offers promise for their use in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics applications.

  13. Local, global, and nonlinear screening in twisted double-layer graphene

    DOE PAGES

    Lu, Chih -Pin; Rodriguez-Vega, Martin; Li, Guohong; ...

    2016-06-02

    One-atom-thick crystalline layers and their vertical heterostructures carry the promise of designer electronic materials that are unattainable by standard growth techniques. To realize their potential it is necessary to isolate them from environmental disturbances, in particular those introduced by the substrate. However, finding and characterizing suitable substrates, and minimizing the random potential fluctuations they introduce, has been a persistent challenge in this emerging field. In this paper, we show that Landau-level (LL) spectroscopy offers the unique capability to quantify both the reduction of the quasiparticles’ lifetime and the long-range inhomogeneity due to random potential fluctuations. Harnessing this technique together withmore » direct scanning tunneling microscopy and numerical simulations we demonstrate that the insertion of a graphene buffer layer with a large twist angle is a very effective method to shield a 2D system from substrate interference that has the additional desirable property of preserving the electronic structure of the system under study. Finally, we further show that owing to its remarkable nonlinear screening capability a single graphene buffer layer provides better shielding than either increasing the distance to the substrate or doubling the carrier density and reduces the amplitude of the potential fluctuations in graphene to values even lower than the ones in AB-stacked bilayer graphene.« less

  14. Local, global, and nonlinear screening in twisted double-layer graphene

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lu, Chih -Pin; Rodriguez-Vega, Martin; Li, Guohong

    One-atom-thick crystalline layers and their vertical heterostructures carry the promise of designer electronic materials that are unattainable by standard growth techniques. To realize their potential it is necessary to isolate them from environmental disturbances, in particular those introduced by the substrate. However, finding and characterizing suitable substrates, and minimizing the random potential fluctuations they introduce, has been a persistent challenge in this emerging field. In this paper, we show that Landau-level (LL) spectroscopy offers the unique capability to quantify both the reduction of the quasiparticles’ lifetime and the long-range inhomogeneity due to random potential fluctuations. Harnessing this technique together withmore » direct scanning tunneling microscopy and numerical simulations we demonstrate that the insertion of a graphene buffer layer with a large twist angle is a very effective method to shield a 2D system from substrate interference that has the additional desirable property of preserving the electronic structure of the system under study. Finally, we further show that owing to its remarkable nonlinear screening capability a single graphene buffer layer provides better shielding than either increasing the distance to the substrate or doubling the carrier density and reduces the amplitude of the potential fluctuations in graphene to values even lower than the ones in AB-stacked bilayer graphene.« less

  15. Gate-defined Quantum Confinement in Suspended Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allen, Monica

    2013-03-01

    Quantum confined devices in carbon-based materials offer unique possibilities for applications ranging from quantum computation to sensing. In particular, nanostructured carbon is a promising candidate for spin-based quantum computation due to the ability to suppress hyperfine coupling to nuclear spins, a dominant source of spin decoherence. Yet graphene lacks an intrinsic bandgap, which poses a serious challenge for the creation of such devices. We present a novel approach to quantum confinement utilizing tunnel barriers defined by local electric fields that break sublattice symmetry in suspended bilayer graphene. This technique electrostatically confines charges via band structure control, thereby eliminating the edge and substrate disorder that hinders on-chip etched nanostructures to date. We report clean single electron tunneling through gate-defined quantum dots in two regimes: at zero magnetic field using the energy gap induced by a perpendicular electric field and at finite magnetic fields using Landau level confinement. The observed Coulomb blockade periodicity agrees with electrostatic simulations based on local top-gate geometry, a direct demonstration of local control over the band structure of graphene. This technology integrates quantum confinement with pristine device quality and access to vibrational modes, enabling wide applications from electromechanical sensors to quantum bits. More broadly, the ability to externally tailor the graphene bandgap over nanometer scales opens a new unexplored avenue for creating quantum devices.

  16. Synthesis of Bilayer Graphene on 90/10 Copper (Cu)/Nickel (Ni) Alloy and Transfer by Electrochemical Delamination

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-09-01

    C) and slow decomposition rate in methane (CH4).11 Cu alone has sometimes been shown to form incomplete bilayers with a significant fraction of...argon BLG bilayer graphene C carbon CH4 methane Cu2O cuprous oxide Cu copper CVD chemical vapor deposition DI deionized FeCl3 iron

  17. Buckling failure of square ice-nanotube arrays constrained in graphene nanocapillaries.

    PubMed

    Zhu, YinBo; Wang, FengChao; Wu, HengAn

    2016-08-07

    Graphene confinement provides a new physical and mechanical environment with ultrahigh van der Waals pressure, resulting in new quasi-two-dimensional phases of few-layer ice. Polymorphic transition can occur in bilayer constrained water/ice system. Here, we perform a comprehensive study of the phase transition of AA-stacked bilayer water constrained within a graphene nanocapillary. The compression-limit and superheating-limit (phase) diagrams are obtained, based on the extensive molecular-dynamics simulations at numerous thermodynamic states. Liquid-to-solid, solid-to-solid, and solid-to-liquid-to-solid phase transitions are observed in the compression and superheating of bilayer water. Interestingly, there is a temperature threshold (∼275 K) in the compression-limit diagram, which indicates that the first-order and continuous-like phase transitions of bilayer water depend on the temperature. Two obviously different physical processes, compression and superheating, display similar structural evolution; that is, square ice-nanotube arrays (BL-VHDI) will bend first and then transform into bilayer triangular AA stacking ice (BL-AAI). The superheating limit of BL-VHDI exhibits local maxima, while that of BL-AAI increases monotonically. More importantly, from a mechanics point of view, we propose a novel mechanism of the transformation from BL-VHDI to BL-AAI, both for the compression and superheating limits. This structural transformation can be regarded as the "buckling failure" of the square-ice-nanotube columns, which is dominated by the lateral pressure.

  18. Buckling failure of square ice-nanotube arrays constrained in graphene nanocapillaries

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhu, YinBo; Wang, FengChao, E-mail: wangfc@ustc.edu.cn; Wu, HengAn

    Graphene confinement provides a new physical and mechanical environment with ultrahigh van der Waals pressure, resulting in new quasi-two-dimensional phases of few-layer ice. Polymorphic transition can occur in bilayer constrained water/ice system. Here, we perform a comprehensive study of the phase transition of AA-stacked bilayer water constrained within a graphene nanocapillary. The compression-limit and superheating-limit (phase) diagrams are obtained, based on the extensive molecular-dynamics simulations at numerous thermodynamic states. Liquid-to-solid, solid-to-solid, and solid-to-liquid-to-solid phase transitions are observed in the compression and superheating of bilayer water. Interestingly, there is a temperature threshold (∼275 K) in the compression-limit diagram, which indicates thatmore » the first-order and continuous-like phase transitions of bilayer water depend on the temperature. Two obviously different physical processes, compression and superheating, display similar structural evolution; that is, square ice-nanotube arrays (BL-VHDI) will bend first and then transform into bilayer triangular AA stacking ice (BL-AAI). The superheating limit of BL-VHDI exhibits local maxima, while that of BL-AAI increases monotonically. More importantly, from a mechanics point of view, we propose a novel mechanism of the transformation from BL-VHDI to BL-AAI, both for the compression and superheating limits. This structural transformation can be regarded as the “buckling failure” of the square-ice-nanotube columns, which is dominated by the lateral pressure.« less

  19. Floquet high Chern insulators in periodically driven chirally stacked multilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Si; Liu, Cheng-Cheng; Yao, Yugui

    2018-03-01

    Chirally stacked N-layer graphene is a semimetal with ±p N band-touching at two nonequivalent corners in its Brillioun zone. We predict that an off-resonant circularly polarized light (CPL) drives chirally stacked N-layer graphene into a Floquet Chern insulators (FCIs), aka quantum anomalous Hall insulators, with tunable high Chern number C F = ±N and large gaps. A topological phase transition between such a FCI and a valley Hall (VH) insulator with high valley Chern number C v = ±N induced by a voltage gate can be engineered by the parameters of the CPL and voltage gate. We propose a topological domain wall between the FCI and VH phases, along which perfectly valley-polarized N-channel edge states propagate unidirectionally without backscattering.

  20. Channel morphology effect on water transport through graphene bilayers

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Bo; Wu, Renbing; Law, Adrian Wing-Keung; Feng, Xi-Qiao; Bai, Lichun; Zhou, Kun

    2016-01-01

    The application of few-layered graphene-derived functional thin films for molecular filtration and separation has recently attracted intensive interests. In practice, the morphology of the nanochannel formed by the graphene (GE) layers is not ideally flat and can be affected by various factors. This work investigates the effect of channel morphology on the water transport behaviors through the GE bilayers via molecular dynamics simulations. The simulation results show that the water flow velocity and transport resistance highly depend on the curvature of the graphene layers, particularly when they are curved in non-synergic patterns. To understand the channel morphology effect, the distributions of water density, dipole moment orientation and hydrogen bonds inside the channel are investigated, and the potential energy surface with different distances to the basal GE layer is analyzed. It shows that the channel morphology significantly changes the distribution of the water molecules and their orientation and interaction inside the channel. The energy barrier for water molecules transport through the channel also significantly depends on the channel morphology. PMID:27929106

  1. Channel morphology effect on water transport through graphene bilayers.

    PubMed

    Liu, Bo; Wu, Renbing; Law, Adrian Wing-Keung; Feng, Xi-Qiao; Bai, Lichun; Zhou, Kun

    2016-12-08

    The application of few-layered graphene-derived functional thin films for molecular filtration and separation has recently attracted intensive interests. In practice, the morphology of the nanochannel formed by the graphene (GE) layers is not ideally flat and can be affected by various factors. This work investigates the effect of channel morphology on the water transport behaviors through the GE bilayers via molecular dynamics simulations. The simulation results show that the water flow velocity and transport resistance highly depend on the curvature of the graphene layers, particularly when they are curved in non-synergic patterns. To understand the channel morphology effect, the distributions of water density, dipole moment orientation and hydrogen bonds inside the channel are investigated, and the potential energy surface with different distances to the basal GE layer is analyzed. It shows that the channel morphology significantly changes the distribution of the water molecules and their orientation and interaction inside the channel. The energy barrier for water molecules transport through the channel also significantly depends on the channel morphology.

  2. Phonon-induced renormalization of the electron spectrum of biased bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kryuchkov, S. V.; Kukhar, E. I.

    2018-05-01

    The effect of the electron-phonon interaction on the electron subsystem of the bilayer graphene has been investigated in the case when there is a potential bias between the graphene layers. The electron-phonon interaction has been shown to lead to increasing of the curvature of the lower dispersion branch of the conduction band of the bigraphene in the vicinity of the Dirac point. The latter corresponds to the decreasing of the absolute value of the electron effective mass. The corresponding correction to the effective mass has been calculated. Dependence of this correction on the bias has been investigated. Influence of such effect on the bigraphene conductivity is discussed.

  3. Graphene-polydimethylsiloxane/chromium bilayer-based flexible, reversible, and large bendable photomechanical actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leeladhar; Raturi, Parul; Kumar, Ajeet; Singh, J. P.

    2017-09-01

    We demonstrate the fabrication of highly versatile photomechanical actuators based on graphene-polymer/metal bilayers that offers fast, low-cost fabrication, large deflection, reversible actuation under zero applied pre-strain, and wavelength-selective response. The photomechanical actuator consists of a graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposite with a thin chromium metal coating of 35 nm thickness on the backside of the structure. The photomechanical response of the GNP-PDMS/Cr photomechanical actuator was measured by recording the variation of the bending angle upon infrared (IR) light illumination. The bending in the bilayer actuator is caused by the generation of thermal stress due to the large mismatch (the ratio being 1/20) of the thermal expansion coefficient between the two layers as a result of IR absorption by GNPs and a subsequent increase in the local temperature. The maximum bending angle was found to be about 40 degrees with a corresponding large deflection value of about 6-7 mm within 6 s for IR illumination with an intensity of 550 mW cm-2. The corresponding actuation response and relaxation times were about 1 and 3 s, respectively. The GNP-PDMS/Cr bilayer combination when integrated with the standard surface micromachining technique of micro-electromechanical system fabrication can find useful applications in the realization of micro soft-robotics, controlled drug delivery, and light-driven micro switches i.e. micro-optomechanical systems.

  4. Barrier inhomogeneities at vertically stacked graphene-based heterostructures.

    PubMed

    Lin, Yen-Fu; Li, Wenwu; Li, Song-Lin; Xu, Yong; Aparecido-Ferreira, Alex; Komatsu, Katsuyoshi; Sun, Huabin; Nakaharai, Shu; Tsukagoshi, Kazuhito

    2014-01-21

    The integration of graphene and other atomically flat, two-dimensional materials has attracted much interest and been materialized very recently. An in-depth understanding of transport mechanisms in such heterostructures is essential. In this study, vertically stacked graphene-based heterostructure transistors were manufactured to elucidate the mechanism of electron injection at the interface. The temperature dependence of the electrical characteristics was investigated from 300 to 90 K. In a careful analysis of current-voltage characteristics, an unusual decrease in the effective Schottky barrier height and increase in the ideality factor were observed with decreasing temperature. A model of thermionic emission with a Gaussian distribution of barriers was able to precisely interpret the conduction mechanism. Furthermore, mapping of the effective Schottky barrier height is unmasked as a function of temperature and gate voltage. The results offer significant insight for the development of future layer-integration technology based on graphene-based heterostructures.

  5. Anti-solvent derived non-stacked reduced graphene oxide for high performance supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Yoon, Yeoheung; Lee, Keunsik; Baik, Chul; Yoo, Heejoun; Min, Misook; Park, Younghun; Lee, Sae Mi; Lee, Hyoyoung

    2013-08-27

    An anti-solvent for graphene oxide (GO), hexane, is introduced to increase the surface area and the pore volume of the non-stacked GO/reduced GO 3D structure and allows the formation of a highly crumpled non-stacked GO powder, which clearly shows ideal supercapacitor behavior. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Layer-controllable graphene by plasma thinning and post-annealing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Lufang; Feng, Shaopeng; Xiao, Shaoqing; Shen, Gang; Zhang, Xiumei; Nan, Haiyan; Gu, Xiaofeng; Ostrikov, Kostya (Ken)

    2018-05-01

    The electronic structure of graphene depends crucially on its layer number and therefore engineering the number of graphene's atomic stacking layers is of great importance for the preparation of graphene-based devices. In this paper, we demonstrated a relatively less invasive, high-throughput and uniform large-area plasma thinning of graphene based on direct bombardment effect of fast-moving ionic hydrogen or argon species. Any desired number of graphene layers including trilayer, bilayer and monolayer can be obtained. Structural changes of graphene layers are studied by optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Post annealing is adopted to self-heal the lattice defects induced by the ion bombardment effect. This plasma etching technique is efficient and compatible with semiconductor manufacturing processes, and may find important applications for graphene-based device fabrication.

  7. Electronic screening in stacked graphene flakes revealed by scanning tunneling microscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Feng, Xiaofeng; Salmeron, Miquel

    2013-02-01

    Electronic doping and screening effects in stacked graphene flakes on Ru and Cu substrates have been observed using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The screening affects the apparent STM height of each flake in successive layers reflecting the density of states near the Fermi level and thus the doping level. It is revealed in this way that the strong doping of the first graphene layer on Ru(0001) is attenuated in the second one, and almost eliminated in the third and fourth layers. Similar effect is also observed in graphene flakes on Cu(111). In contrast, the strong doping effect is suppressed immediately by a water layer intercalated between the graphene and Ru.

  8. Direct observation of multiple rotational stacking faults coexisting in freestanding bilayer MoS2.

    PubMed

    Li, Zuocheng; Yan, Xingxu; Tang, Zhenkun; Huo, Ziyang; Li, Guoliang; Jiao, Liying; Liu, Li-Min; Zhang, Miao; Luo, Jun; Zhu, Jing

    2017-08-16

    Electronic properties of two-dimensional (2D) MoS 2 semiconductors can be modulated by introducing specific defects. One important type of defect in 2D layered materials is known as rotational stacking fault (RSF), but the coexistence of multiple RSFs with different rotational angles was not directly observed in freestanding 2D MoS 2 before. In this report, we demonstrate the coexistence of three RSFs with three different rotational angles in a freestanding bilayer MoS 2 sheet as directly observed using an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope (TEM). Our analyses show that these RSFs originate from cracks and dislocations within the bilayer MoS 2 . First-principles calculations indicate that RSFs with different rotational angles change the electronic structures of bilayer MoS 2 and produce two new symmetries in their bandgaps and offset crystal momentums. Therefore, employing RSFs and their coexistence is a promising route in defect engineering of MoS 2 to fabricate suitable devices for electronics, optoelectronics, and energy conversion.

  9. Utilizing Interlayer Excitons in Bilayer WS2 for Increased Photovoltaic Response in Ultrathin Graphene Vertical Cross-Bar Photodetecting Tunneling Transistors.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Yingqiu; Tan, Haijie; Sheng, Yuewen; Fan, Ye; Xu, Wenshuo; Warner, Jamie H

    2018-04-19

    Here we study the layer-dependent photoconductivity in Gr/WS 2 /Gr vertical stacked tunneling (VST) cross-bar devices made using two-dimensional (2D) materials all grown by chemical vapor deposition. The larger number of devices (>100) enables a statistically robust analysis on the comparative differences in the photovoltaic response of monolayer and bilayer WS 2 , which cannot be achieved in small batch devices made using mechanically exfoliated materials. We show a dramatic increase in photovoltaic response for Gr/WS 2 (2L)/Gr compared to monolayers because of the long inter- and intralayer exciton lifetimes and the small exciton binding energy (both interlayer and intralayer excitons) of bilayer WS 2 compared with that of monolayer WS 2 . Different doping levels and dielectric environments of top and bottom graphene electrodes result in a potential difference across a ∼1 nm vertical device, which gives rise to large electric fields perpendicular to the WS 2 layers that cause band structure modification. Our results show how precise control over layer number in all 2D VST devices dictates the photophysics and performance for photosensing applications.

  10. Interlayer Water Regulates the Bio-nano Interface of a β-sheet Protein stacking on Graphene

    PubMed Central

    Lv, Wenping; Xu, Guiju; Zhang, Hongyan; Li, Xin; Liu, Shengju; Niu, Huan; Xu, Dongsheng; Wu, Ren'an

    2015-01-01

    Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated an integrated bio-nano interface consisting of a β-sheet protein stacked onto graphene. We found that the stacking assembly of the model protein on graphene could be controlled by water molecules. The interlayer water filled within interstices of the bio-nano interface could suppress the molecular vibration of surface groups on protein, and could impair the CH···π interaction driving the attraction of the protein and graphene. The intermolecular coupling of interlayer water would be relaxed by the relative motion of protein upon graphene due to the interaction between water and protein surface. This effect reduced the hindrance of the interlayer water against the assembly of protein on graphene, resulting an appropriate adsorption status of protein on graphene with a deep free energy trap. Thereby, the confinement and the relative sliding between protein and graphene, the coupling of protein and water, and the interaction between graphene and water all have involved in the modulation of behaviors of water molecules within the bio-nano interface, governing the hindrance of interlayer water against the protein assembly on hydrophobic graphene. These results provide a deep insight into the fundamental mechanism of protein adsorption onto graphene surface in water. PMID:25557857

  11. Interlayer water regulates the bio-nano interface of a β-sheet protein stacking on graphene.

    PubMed

    Lv, Wenping; Xu, Guiju; Zhang, Hongyan; Li, Xin; Liu, Shengju; Niu, Huan; Xu, Dongsheng; Wu, Ren'an

    2015-01-05

    Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated an integrated bio-nano interface consisting of a β-sheet protein stacked onto graphene. We found that the stacking assembly of the model protein on graphene could be controlled by water molecules. The interlayer water filled within interstices of the bio-nano interface could suppress the molecular vibration of surface groups on protein, and could impair the CH···π interaction driving the attraction of the protein and graphene. The intermolecular coupling of interlayer water would be relaxed by the relative motion of protein upon graphene due to the interaction between water and protein surface. This effect reduced the hindrance of the interlayer water against the assembly of protein on graphene, resulting an appropriate adsorption status of protein on graphene with a deep free energy trap. Thereby, the confinement and the relative sliding between protein and graphene, the coupling of protein and water, and the interaction between graphene and water all have involved in the modulation of behaviors of water molecules within the bio-nano interface, governing the hindrance of interlayer water against the protein assembly on hydrophobic graphene. These results provide a deep insight into the fundamental mechanism of protein adsorption onto graphene surface in water.

  12. Interlayer Water Regulates the Bio-nano Interface of a β-sheet Protein stacking on Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lv, Wenping; Xu, Guiju; Zhang, Hongyan; Li, Xin; Liu, Shengju; Niu, Huan; Xu, Dongsheng; Wu, Ren'an

    2015-01-01

    Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated an integrated bio-nano interface consisting of a β-sheet protein stacked onto graphene. We found that the stacking assembly of the model protein on graphene could be controlled by water molecules. The interlayer water filled within interstices of the bio-nano interface could suppress the molecular vibration of surface groups on protein, and could impair the CH...π interaction driving the attraction of the protein and graphene. The intermolecular coupling of interlayer water would be relaxed by the relative motion of protein upon graphene due to the interaction between water and protein surface. This effect reduced the hindrance of the interlayer water against the assembly of protein on graphene, resulting an appropriate adsorption status of protein on graphene with a deep free energy trap. Thereby, the confinement and the relative sliding between protein and graphene, the coupling of protein and water, and the interaction between graphene and water all have involved in the modulation of behaviors of water molecules within the bio-nano interface, governing the hindrance of interlayer water against the protein assembly on hydrophobic graphene. These results provide a deep insight into the fundamental mechanism of protein adsorption onto graphene surface in water.

  13. From hopping to ballistic transport in graphene-based electronic devices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taychatanapat, Thiti

    This thesis describes electronic transport experiments in graphene from the hopping to the ballistic regime. The first experiment studies dual-gated bilayer graphene devices. By applying an electric field with these dual gates, we can open a band gap in bilayer graphene and observe an increase in resistance of over six orders of magnitude as well as a strongly non-linear behavior in the transport characteristics. A temperature-dependence study of resistance at large electric field at the charge neutrality point shows the change in the transport mechanism from a hopping dominated regime at low temperature to a diffusive regime at high temperature. The second experiment examines electronic properties of Bernal-stacked trilayer graphene. Due to the low mobility of trilayer graphene on SiO 2substrates, we employ hexagonal boron nitride as a local substrate to improve its mobility. This led us to observe a quantum Hall effect with multiple Landau level crossings, proving the coexistence of massless and massive Dirac fermions in Bernal-stacked trilayer graphene. From the position of these crossing points in magnetic field and electron density, we can deduce the band parameters used to model its band structure. At high magnetic field, we observe broken symmetry states via Landau level splittings as well as crossings among these broken-symmetry states. In the third experiment, we investigate transverse magnetic focusing (TMF) in mono-, bi-, and tri-layer graphene. The ability to tune density allows us to electronically modify focal points and investigate TMF continuously from hole to electron regimes. This also allows us to observe the change in band structure of trilayer graphene as a function of applied electric field. Finally, we also observe TMF at room temperature in monolayer graphene which unambiguously proves the existence of ballistic transport at room temperature.

  14. Common-path interference and oscillatory Zener tunneling in bilayer graphene p-n junctions

    PubMed Central

    Nandkishore, Rahul; Levitov, Leonid

    2011-01-01

    Interference and tunneling are two signature quantum effects that are often perceived as the yin and yang of quantum mechanics: a particle simultaneously propagating along several distinct classical paths versus a particle penetrating through a classically inaccessible region via a single least-action path. Here we demonstrate that the Dirac quasiparticles in graphene provide a dramatic departure from this paradigm. We show that Zener tunneling in gapped bilayer graphene, which governs transport through p-n heterojunctions, exhibits common-path interference that takes place under the tunnel barrier. Due to a symmetry peculiar to the gapped bilayer graphene bandstructure, interfering tunneling paths form conjugate pairs, giving rise to high-contrast oscillations in transmission as a function of the gate-tunable bandgap and other control parameters of the junction. The common-path interference is solely due to forward-propagating waves; in contrast to Fabry–Pérot-type interference in resonant-tunneling structures, it does not rely on multiple backscattering. The oscillations manifest themselves in the junction I–V characteristic as N-shaped branches with negative differential conductivity. The negative dI/dV, which arises solely due to under-barrier interference, can enable new high-speed active-circuit devices with architectures that are not available in electronic semiconductor devices. PMID:21825159

  15. Screening effect of graphite and bilayer graphene on excitons in MoSe2 monolayer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Yuan; Zhang, Shuai; Huang, Di; Cheng, Jingxin; Li, Yingguo; Wu, Shiwei

    2017-03-01

    Excitons in transition metal dichalcogenide monolayer have recently attracted great interest due to their extremely large binding energy, causing giant bandgap renormalization. In this work, we examined the screening effect of graphite and bilayer graphene on the excitons in molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) monolayer grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Through the combinational study of scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements, we determined the binding energy of ~0.58 eV for MoSe2 monolayer on both substrates at 16 K, and no obvious difference between them. Our result is consistent with a previous report [Zhang et al 2015 Nano Letters 15, 6494], but is contradictory to another one [Ugeda 2014 Nature Materials 13, 1091]. Physical picture for no noticeable difference on screening effect between bilayer graphene and graphite substrate is discussed. Possible reasons for causing the discrepancy are also mentioned.

  16. Improvement of Ion/Ioff for h-BN encapsulated bilayer graphene by graphite local back gate electrode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Uwanno, Teerayut; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Nagashio, Kosuke

    The critical issue for bilayer graphene (BLG) devices is low Ion/Ioff even at the band gap of 0.3eV. Band gap in BLG can be formed by creating potential difference between the two layers of BLG. This can be done by applying external electric field perpendicularly to BLG to induce different carrier densities in the two layers. Due to such origin, the spatial uniformity of band gap in the channel is quite sensitive to charge inhomogeneity in BLG. In order to apply electric field of 3V/nm to open the maximum band gap of 0.3eV, high- k gate stack has been utilized so far. However, oxide dielectrics usually have large charge inhomogeneity causing in-plane potential fluctuation in BLG channel. Due to surface flatness and small charge inhomogeneity, h-BN has been used as dielectrics to achieve high quality graphene devices, however, Ion/Iofffor BLG/ h-BN heterostuctures has not been reported yet. In this study, we used graphite as local back gate electrode to BLG encapsulated with h-BN. This resulted in much higher Ion/Ioff, indicating the importance of screening of charge inhomogeneity from SiO2 substrate surface by local graphite back gate electrode. This research was partly supported by JSPS Core-to-Core Program, A. Advanced Research Networks.

  17. An ab initio study of the electronic structure of indium and gallium chalcogenide bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ayadi, T.; Debbichi, L.; Said, M.; Lebègue, S.

    2017-09-01

    Using first principle calculations, we have studied the structural and electronic properties of two dimensional bilayers of indium and gallium chalcogenides. With density functional theory corrected for van der Waals interactions, the different modes of stacking were investigated in a systematic way, and several of them were found to compete in energy. Then, their band structures were obtained with the GW approximation and found to correspond to indirect bandgap semiconductors with a small dependency on the mode of stacking. Finally, by analysing the electron density, it appeared that GaSe-InS is a promising system for electron-hole separation.

  18. Topological induced valley polarization in bilayer graphene/Boron Nitride

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Basile, Leonardo; Idrobo, Juan C.

    2015-03-01

    Novel electronic devices relay in our ability to control internal quantum degrees of freedom of the electron e.g., its spin. The valley number degree of freedom is a pseudospin that labels degenerate eigenstates at local maximum/minimum on the valence/conduction band. Valley polarization, that is, selective electronic localization in a momentum valley and its manipulation can be achieved by means of circular polarized light (CPL) in a system with strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). In this talk, we will show theoretically that despite the fact that neither graphene or BN have a strong SOC, a bilayer of graphene on BN oriented at a twist angle has different absorption for right- and left- CPL. This induced polarization occurs due to band folding of the electronic bands, i.e., it has a topological origin. This research was supported EPN multidisciplinary grant and by DOE SUFD MSED.

  19. Topological chiral phonons in center-stacked bilayer triangle lattices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Xifang; Zhang, Wei; Wang, Jiaojiao; Zhang, Lifa

    2018-06-01

    Since chiral phonons were found in an asymmetric two-dimensional hexagonal lattice, there has been growing interest in the study of phonon chirality, which were experimentally verified very recently in monolayer tungsten diselenide (2018 Science 359 579). In this work, we find chiral phonons with nontrivial topology in center-stacked bilayer triangle lattices. At the Brillouin-zone corners, (), circularly polarized phonons and nonzero phonon Berry curvature are observed. Moreover, we find that the phonon chirality remain robust with changing sublattice mass ratio and interlayer coupling. The chiral phonons at the valleys are demonstrated in doubler-layer sodium chloride along the [1 1 1] direction. We believe that the findings on topological chiral phonons in triangle lattices will give guidance in the study of chiral phonons in real materials and promote the phononic applications.

  20. Unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle graphene superlattices.

    PubMed

    Cao, Yuan; Fatemi, Valla; Fang, Shiang; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Kaxiras, Efthimios; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo

    2018-04-05

    The behaviour of strongly correlated materials, and in particular unconventional superconductors, has been studied extensively for decades, but is still not well understood. This lack of theoretical understanding has motivated the development of experimental techniques for studying such behaviour, such as using ultracold atom lattices to simulate quantum materials. Here we report the realization of intrinsic unconventional superconductivity-which cannot be explained by weak electron-phonon interactions-in a two-dimensional superlattice created by stacking two sheets of graphene that are twisted relative to each other by a small angle. For twist angles of about 1.1°-the first 'magic' angle-the electronic band structure of this 'twisted bilayer graphene' exhibits flat bands near zero Fermi energy, resulting in correlated insulating states at half-filling. Upon electrostatic doping of the material away from these correlated insulating states, we observe tunable zero-resistance states with a critical temperature of up to 1.7 kelvin. The temperature-carrier-density phase diagram of twisted bilayer graphene is similar to that of copper oxides (or cuprates), and includes dome-shaped regions that correspond to superconductivity. Moreover, quantum oscillations in the longitudinal resistance of the material indicate the presence of small Fermi surfaces near the correlated insulating states, in analogy with underdoped cuprates. The relatively high superconducting critical temperature of twisted bilayer graphene, given such a small Fermi surface (which corresponds to a carrier density of about 10 11 per square centimetre), puts it among the superconductors with the strongest pairing strength between electrons. Twisted bilayer graphene is a precisely tunable, purely carbon-based, two-dimensional superconductor. It is therefore an ideal material for investigations of strongly correlated phenomena, which could lead to insights into the physics of high

  1. The Ordering and Electronic Structure of Multilayer Epitaxial Graphene on SiC

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Conrad, Edward

    2011-03-01

    The structural definition of graphene as a single sheet of hexagonal carbon limits how we view this material. It is the electronic properties of a single isolated graphene sheet that actually defines and motivates current graphene research. Remarkably, the best example of the idealized band structure of graphene comes does not come from a single graphene layer but from multilayer films grown on SiC. Multilayer epitaxial graphene (MEG) not only shows all the 2D properties expected for an isolated graphene sheet, but it the scalability to large scale integrated carbon circuits. I will show that the reason for this remarkable property, i.e. that a multilayer graphene films behaving like a single graphene sheet, is due to MEG's unique stacking. MEG films have a quasi-ordered rotational stacking that breaks the Bernal stacking symmetry associated with graphite. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) data demonstrates that the bands are linear at the K-point of these films. We can also show that the rotated stacking is highly ordered and that less than 20% of the graphene sheets in the film are Bernal stacked. I will also show that ARPES measurements on MEG films demonstrate serious inadequacies with both tight binding and ab initio formalisms. In particular the data shows no reductions in the Fermi velocity or the formation of Van Hove singularity that have been consistently predicted for this material. I wish to acknowledge funding from the NSF under Grants No. DMR-0820382 and DMR-1005880.

  2. Suppression of Quasiparticle Scattering Signals in Bilayer Graphene Due to Layer Polarization and Destructive Interference

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jolie, Wouter; Lux, Jonathan; Pörtner, Mathias; Dombrowski, Daniela; Herbig, Charlotte; Knispel, Timo; Simon, Sabina; Michely, Thomas; Rosch, Achim; Busse, Carsten

    2018-03-01

    We study chemically gated bilayer graphene using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy complemented by tight-binding calculations. Gating is achieved by intercalating Cs between bilayer graphene and Ir(111), thereby shifting the conduction band minima below the chemical potential. Scattering between electronic states (both intraband and interband) is detected via quasiparticle interference. However, not all expected processes are visible in our experiment. We uncover two general effects causing this suppression: first, intercalation leads to an asymmetrical distribution of the states within the two layers, which significantly reduces the scanning tunneling spectroscopy signal of standing waves mainly present in the lower layer; second, forward scattering processes, connecting points on the constant energy contours with parallel velocities, do not produce pronounced standing waves due to destructive interference. We present a theory to describe the interference signal for a general n -band material.

  3. Suppression of Quasiparticle Scattering Signals in Bilayer Graphene Due to Layer Polarization and Destructive Interference.

    PubMed

    Jolie, Wouter; Lux, Jonathan; Pörtner, Mathias; Dombrowski, Daniela; Herbig, Charlotte; Knispel, Timo; Simon, Sabina; Michely, Thomas; Rosch, Achim; Busse, Carsten

    2018-03-09

    We study chemically gated bilayer graphene using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy complemented by tight-binding calculations. Gating is achieved by intercalating Cs between bilayer graphene and Ir(111), thereby shifting the conduction band minima below the chemical potential. Scattering between electronic states (both intraband and interband) is detected via quasiparticle interference. However, not all expected processes are visible in our experiment. We uncover two general effects causing this suppression: first, intercalation leads to an asymmetrical distribution of the states within the two layers, which significantly reduces the scanning tunneling spectroscopy signal of standing waves mainly present in the lower layer; second, forward scattering processes, connecting points on the constant energy contours with parallel velocities, do not produce pronounced standing waves due to destructive interference. We present a theory to describe the interference signal for a general n-band material.

  4. Energy Gaps and Layer Polarization of Integer and Fractional Quantum Hall States in Bilayer Graphene.

    PubMed

    Shi, Yanmeng; Lee, Yongjin; Che, Shi; Pi, Ziqi; Espiritu, Timothy; Stepanov, Petr; Smirnov, Dmitry; Lau, Chun Ning; Zhang, Fan

    2016-02-05

    Owing to the spin, valley, and orbital symmetries, the lowest Landau level in bilayer graphene exhibits multicomponent quantum Hall ferromagnetism. Using transport spectroscopy, we investigate the energy gaps of integer and fractional quantum Hall (QH) states in bilayer graphene with controlled layer polarization. The state at filling factor ν=1 has two distinct phases: a layer polarized state that has a larger energy gap and is stabilized by high electric field, and a hitherto unobserved interlayer coherent state with a smaller gap that is stabilized by large magnetic field. In contrast, the ν=2/3 quantum Hall state and a feature at ν=1/2 are only resolved at finite electric field and large magnetic field. These results underscore the importance of controlling layer polarization in understanding the competing symmetries in the unusual QH system of BLG.

  5. Electrostatic and magnetic fields in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jellal, Ahmed; Redouani, Ilham; Bahlouli, Hocine

    2015-08-01

    We compute the transmission probability through rectangular potential barriers and p-n junctions in the presence of a magnetic and electric fields in bilayer graphene taking into account contributions from the full four bands of the energy spectrum. For energy E higher than the interlayer coupling γ1 (E >γ1) two propagation modes are available for transport giving rise to four possible ways for transmission and reflection coefficients. However, when the energy is less than the height of the barrier the Dirac fermions exhibit transmission resonances and only one mode of propagation is available for transport. We study the effect of the interlayer electrostatic potential denoted by δ and variations of different barrier geometry parameters on the transmission probability.

  6. Dirac points, spinons and spin liquid in twisted bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Irkhin, V. Yu.; Skryabin, Yu. N.

    2018-05-01

    Twisted bilayer graphene is an excellent example of highly correlated system demonstrating a nearly flat electron band, the Mott transition and probably a spin liquid state. Besides the one-electron picture, analysis of Dirac points is performed in terms of spinon Fermi surface in the limit of strong correlations. Application of gauge field theory to describe deconfined spin liquid phase is treated. Topological quantum transitions, including those from small to large Fermi surface in the presence of van Hove singularities, are discussed.

  7. Helium isotope enrichment by resonant tunneling through nanoporous graphene bilayers.

    PubMed

    Mandrà, Salvatore; Schrier, Joshua; Ceotto, Michele

    2014-08-21

    Graphene is impermeable to gases, but introducing subnanometer pores can allow for selective gas separation. Because graphene is only one atom thick, tunneling can play an important role, especially for low-mass gases such as helium, and this has been proposed as a means of separating (3)He from (4)He. In this paper, we consider the possibility of utilizing resonant tunneling of helium isotopes through nanoporous graphene bilayers. Using a model potential fit to previously reported DFT potential energy surfaces, we calculate the thermal rate constant as a function of interlayer separation using a recently described time-independent method for arbitrary multibarrier potentials. Resonant transmission allows for the total flux rate of (3)He to remain the same as the best-known single-barrier pores but doubles the selectivity with respect to (4)He when the optimal interlayer spacing of 4.6 Å is used. The high flux rate and selectivity are robust against variations of the interlayer spacing and asymmetries in the potential that may occur in experiment.

  8. Experimental realization of gate controlled topological conducting channels in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, J.; McFaul, K. J.; Zern, Z.; Zhu, J.; Wang, K.; Ren, Y. F.; Qiao, Z. H.; Watanabe, K.; Taniguchi, T.

    Manipulating the valley degree of freedom in two-dimensional honeycomb lattices can potentially lead to a new type of electronics called valleytronics. In electrically gapped bilayer graphene, the broken inversion symmetry leads to non-zero and asymmetric Berry curvature Ω in the K and K' valleys of the Brillouin zone. Reversing the sign of Ω at the internal line junction of two oppositely gated bilayer graphene is predicted to yield counter-propagating edge modes, the so-called kink states, with quantized conductance of 4e2 / h in the absence of valley mixing. We have overcome fabrication challenges to implement high-quality hBN encapsulated, dual-split-gates structures necessary to observe the kink states. Here I present experimental evidences of the kink states. In the absence of a magnetic field, the kink states have a mean free path of a few hundred nm. Ballistic conductance of 4e2 / h is achieved in a perpendicular magnetic field. We discuss the potential valley-mixing mechanisms and the role of the magnetic field. Experimental results are supported by numerical studies. We will also discuss ongoing efforts in realizing valley-controlled transmission and guiding of the kink states, which is a significant step towards the development of valleytronics.

  9. Gate-controlled tunneling of quantum Hall edge states in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Jun; Li, Jing; Wen, Hua

    Controlled tunneling of integer and fractional quantum Hall edge states provides a powerful tool to probe the physics of 1D systems and exotic particle statistics. Experiments in GaAs 2DEGs employ either a quantum point contact or a line junction tunnel barrier. It is generally difficult to independently control the filling factors νL and νR on the two sides of the barrier. Here we show that in bilayer graphene both νL and νR as well as their Landau level structures can be independently controlled using a dual-split-gate structure. In addition, the height of the line-junction tunnel barrier implemented in our experiments is tunable via a 5th gate. By measuring the tunneling resistance across the junction RT we examine the equilibration of the edge states in a variety of νL/νR scenarios and under different barrier heights. Edge states from both sides are fully mixed in the case of a low barrier. As the barrier height increases, we observe plateaus in RT that correspond to sequential complete backscattering of edge states. Gate-controlled manipulation of edge states offers a new angle to the exploration of quantum Hall magnetism and fractional quantum Hall effect in bilayer graphene.

  10. A first principles approach to magnetic and optical properties in single-layer graphene sandwiched between boron nitride monolayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Das, Ritwika; Chowdhury, Suman; Jana, Debnarayan

    2015-07-01

    The dependence of the stability of single-layer graphene (SLG) sandwiched between hexagonal boron nitride bilayers (h-BN) has been described and investigated for different types of stacking in order to provide the fingerprint of the stacking order which affects the optical properties of such trilayer systems. Considering the four stacking models AAA-, AAB-, ABA-, and ABC-type stacking, the static dielectric functions (in case of parallel polarizations) for AAB-type stacking possesses maximum values, and minimum values are noticed for AAA. However, AAA-type stacking structures contribute the maximum magnetic moment while vanishing magnetic moments are observed for ABA and ABC stacking. The observed optical anisotropy and magnetic properties of these trilayer heterostructures (h-BN/SLG/h-BN) can be understood from the crystallographic stacking order and inherent crystal lattice symmetry. These optical and magnetic results suggest that the h-BN/SLG/h-BN could provide a viable route to graphene-based opto-electronic and spintronic devices.

  11. Perfect absorption in 1D photonic crystal nanobeam embedded with graphene/Al2O3 multilayer stack

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Hanqing; Zha, Song; Liu, Peiguo; Zhou, Xiaotian; Bian, Li-an

    2018-05-01

    We exploit the concept of critical coupling to graphene based chip-integrated applications and numerically demonstrate that a perfect absorption (PA) absorber in the near-infrared can be obtained by graphene/Al2O3 multilayer stack (GAMS) critical coupling with a resonant cavity in the 1D photonic crystal nanobeam (PCN). The key point is dynamically matching the coupling rate of incident light wave to the cavity with the absorbing rate of GAMS via electrically modulating the chemical potential of graphene. Simulation results show that the radius of GAMS as well as the thickness of Al2O3 layer are closely connected with the performance of perfect absorption. These results may provide potential applications in the high-density integrated optical devices, photolectric transducers, and laser pulse limiters.

  12. Phonon stiffen and soften at zigzag- and armchair-dominated edges of exfoliated bilayer graphene ribbon presented by Raman spectra

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xia, Minggang; Zhou, Xiaohua; Xin, Duqiang; Xu, Qiang

    2018-01-01

    The Raman spectra at the edge of the exfoliated bilayer graphene ribbon (GR) were investigated in detail. Results show that both G and 2D phonons stiffen (wave number increases) at zigzag-dominated edge, while they soften at armchair-dominated edge compared with those at the middle position in the GR. Furthermore, the full widths at half maximum intensity of both G and 2D Raman peaks narrow at the zigzag-dominated edge, while they broaden at the armchair-dominated edge. The stiffness and softness are attributed to the C-C bonds at the edge. For zigzag-dominated edge, the stiffness may originate in the increase of the force constant induced by the shrinking of C-C bond. For armchair-dominated edge, the softness may be due to the decrease of the force constant induced by the unsaturated hanging bonds at edge, which is different from Kohn anomaly and charge doping. The analysis is in agreement well with others calculation results about C-C bonds and the edge energy. These results may be useful to understand physical properties at the bilayer graphene edge and for applications in the device by taking advantage of the edge states in bilayer graphene.

  13. Semiconducting behavior of substitutionally doped bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mousavi, Hamze; Khodadadi, Jabbar; Grabowski, Marek

    2018-02-01

    In the framework of the Green's functions approach, random tight-binding model and using the coherent potential approximation, electronic characteristics of the bilayer graphene are investigated by exploring various forms of substitutional doping of a single or both layers of the system by either boron and (or) nitrogen atoms. The results for displacement of the Fermi level resemble the behavior of acceptor or donor doping in a conventional semiconductor, dependent on the impurity type and concentration. The particular pattern of doping of just one layer with one impurity type is most efficient for opening a gap within the energy bands which could be tuned directly by impurity concentration. Doping both layers at the same time, each with one impurity type, leads to an anomaly whereby the gap decreases with increasing impurity concentration.

  14. Anharmonicities in phonon combinations and overtones in bilayered graphene: A temperature-dependent approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Araujo, P. T.

    2018-05-01

    This paper studies phonon anharmonicities related to the phonon combination LOZO' and phonon overtone 2ZO in a A B -stacked bilayer graphene (2LG). The results explain in detail the rule of the ZO' layer breathing mode in the 2LG electron and phonon relaxations, especially at temperatures above 543 K, where anomalous behaviors are observed for the LOZO' frequencies, linewidths (and therefore, lifetimes), and integrated areas. Surprisingly, the 2ZO frequencies and linewidths do not show any dependence with temperature (ZO is the out-of-phase vibration of the layers). This result is explained via nonsymmetric lattice distortions and via the almost null Gr üneisen parameter associated to the ZO mode. Recently, the correct assignments for the phonon combination and overtone modes studied here have been put in debate once again in a theoretical work by Popov [Carbon 91, 436 (2015), 10.1016/j.carbon.2015.05.020]. This work shows how temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy is used to propose a solution for these recent assignment problems. Finally, although 2LG is the system used here, the measurements and discussions to approach electron and phonon relaxations have the potential to be extended to any other multilayered structure that presents ZO'- and ZO-like phonon modes.

  15. Tunable graphene-based hyperbolic metamaterial operating in SCLU telecom bands.

    PubMed

    Janaszek, Bartosz; Tyszka-Zawadzka, Anna; Szczepański, Paweł

    2016-10-17

    The tunability of graphene-based hyperbolic metamaterial structure operating in SCLU telecom bands is investigated. For the first time it has been shown that for the proper design of a graphene/dielectric multilayer stack, the HMM Type I, Epsilon-Near-Zero and Type II regimes are possible by changing the biasing potential. Numerical results reveal the effect of structure parameters such as the thickness of the dielectric layer as well as a number of graphene sheets in a unit cell (i.e., dielectric/graphene bilayer) on the tunability range and shape of the dispersion characteristics (i.e., Type I/ENZ/Type II) in SCLU telecom bands. This kind of materials could offer a technological platform for novel devices having various applications in optical communications technology.

  16. Schottky barrier contrasts in single and bi-layer graphene contacts for MoS{sub 2} field-effect transistors

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Du, Hyewon; Kim, Taekwang; Shin, Somyeong

    We have investigated single- and bi-layer graphene as source-drain electrodes for n-type MoS{sub 2} transistors. Ti-MoS{sub 2}-graphene heterojunction transistors using both single-layer MoS{sub 2} (1M) and 4-layer MoS{sub 2} (4M) were fabricated in order to compare graphene electrodes with commonly used Ti electrodes. MoS{sub 2}-graphene Schottky barrier provided electron injection efficiency up to 130 times higher in the subthreshold regime when compared with MoS{sub 2}-Ti, which resulted in V{sub DS} polarity dependence of device parameters such as threshold voltage (V{sub TH}) and subthreshold swing (SS). Comparing single-layer graphene (SG) with bi-layer graphene (BG) in 4M devices, SG electrodes exhibited enhancedmore » device performance with higher on/off ratio and increased field-effect mobility (μ{sub FE}) due to more sensitive Fermi level shift by gate voltage. Meanwhile, in the strongly accumulated regime, we observed opposing behavior depending on MoS{sub 2} thickness for both SG and BG contacts. Differential conductance (σ{sub d}) of 1M increases with V{sub DS} irrespective of V{sub DS} polarity, while σ{sub d} of 4M ceases monotonic growth at positive V{sub DS} values transitioning to ohmic-like contact formation. Nevertheless, the low absolute value of σ{sub d} saturation of the 4M-graphene junction demonstrates that graphene electrode could be unfavorable for high current carrying transistors.« less

  17. Interplay of Hofstadter and quantum Hall states in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spanton, Eric M.; Zibrov, Alexander A.; Zhou, Haoxin; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Young, Andrea

    Electron interactions in ultraclean systems such as graphene lead to the fractional quantum Hall effect in an applied magnetic field. Long wavelength periodic potentials from a moiré pattern in aligned boron nitride-graphene heterostructures may compete with such interactions and favor spatially ordered states (e.g. Wigner crystals orcharge density waves). To investigate this competition, we studied the bulk phase diagram of asymmetrically moiré-coupled bilayer graphene via multi-terminal magnetocapacitance measurements at ultra-high magnetic fields. Two quantum numbers characterize energy gaps in this regime: t, which indexes the Bloch bands, and s, which indexes the Landau level. Similar to past experiments, we observe the conventional integer and fractional quantum Hall gaps (t = 0), integer Hofstadter gaps (integer s and integer t ≠ 0), and fractional Bloch states associated with an expanded superlattice unit cell (fractional s and integer t). Additionally, we find states with fractional values for both s and t. Measurement of the capacitance matrix shows that these states occur on the layer exposed to the strong periodic potential. We discuss the results in terms of possible fractional quantum hall states unique to periodically modulated systems.

  18. Phonon Transport at the Interfaces of Vertically Stacked Graphene and Hexagonal Boron Nitride Heterostructures

    DOE PAGES

    Yan, Zhequan; Chen, Liang; Yoon, Mina; ...

    2016-01-12

    Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a substrate for graphene based nano-electronic devices. We investigate the ballistic phonon transport at the interface of vertically stacked graphene and h-BN heterostructures using first principles density functional theory and atomistic Green's function simulations considering the influence of lattice stacking. We compute the frequency and wave-vector dependent transmission function and observe distinct stacking-dependent phonon transmission features for the h-BN/graphene/h-BN sandwiched systems. We find that the in-plane acoustic modes have the dominant contributions to the phonon transmission and thermal boundary conductance (TBC) for the interfaces with the carbon atom located directly on top of the boronmore » atom (C–B matched) because of low interfacial spacing. The low interfacial spacing is a consequence of the differences in the effective atomic volume of N and B and the difference in the local electron density around N and B. For the structures with the carbon atom directly on top of the nitrogen atom (C–N matched), the spatial distance increases and the contribution of in-plane modes to the TBC decreases leading to higher contributions by out-of-plane acoustic modes. We find that the C–B matched interfaces have stronger phonon–phonon coupling than the C–N matched interfaces, which results in significantly higher TBC (more than 50%) in the C–B matched interface. The findings in this study will provide insights to understand the mechanism of phonon transport at h-BN/graphene/h-BN interfaces, to better explain the experimental observations and to engineer these interfaces to enhance heat dissipation in graphene based electronic devices.« less

  19. Stacked graphene nanofibers for electrochemical oxidation of DNA bases.

    PubMed

    Ambrosi, Adriano; Pumera, Martin

    2010-08-21

    In this article, we show that stacked graphene nanofibers (SGNFs) demonstrate superior electrochemical performance for oxidation of DNA bases over carbon nanotubes (CNTs). This is due to an exceptionally high number of accessible graphene sheet edges on the surface of the nanofibers when compared to carbon nanotubes, as shown by transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The oxidation signals of adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine exhibit two to four times higher currents than on CNT-based electrodes. SGNFs also exhibit higher sensitivity than do edge-plane pyrolytic graphite, glassy carbon, or graphite microparticle-based electrodes. We also demonstrate that influenza A(H1N1)-related strands can be sensitively oxidized on SGNF-based electrodes, which could therefore be applied to label-free DNA analysis.

  20. Direct measurement of discrete valley and orbital quantum numbers in bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Hunt, B M; Li, J I A; Zibrov, A A; Wang, L; Taniguchi, T; Watanabe, K; Hone, J; Dean, C R; Zaletel, M; Ashoori, R C; Young, A F

    2017-10-16

    The high magnetic field electronic structure of bilayer graphene is enhanced by the spin, valley isospin, and an accidental orbital degeneracy, leading to a complex phase diagram of broken symmetry states. Here, we present a technique for measuring the layer-resolved charge density, from which we directly determine the valley and orbital polarization within the zero energy Landau level. Layer polarization evolves in discrete steps across 32 electric field-tuned phase transitions between states of different valley, spin, and orbital order, including previously unobserved orbitally polarized states stabilized by skew interlayer hopping. We fit our data to a model that captures both single-particle and interaction-induced anisotropies, providing a complete picture of this correlated electron system. The resulting roadmap to symmetry breaking paves the way for deterministic engineering of fractional quantum Hall states, while our layer-resolved technique is readily extendable to other two-dimensional materials where layer polarization maps to the valley or spin quantum numbers.The phase diagram of bilayer graphene at high magnetic fields has been an outstanding question, with orders possibly between multiple internal quantum degrees of freedom. Here, Hunt et al. report the measurement of the valley and orbital order, allowing them to directly reconstruct the phase diagram.

  1. The coherent interlayer resistance of a single, rotated interface between two stacks of AB graphite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Habib, K. M. Masum; Sylvia, Somaia S.; Ge, Supeng; Neupane, Mahesh; Lake, Roger K.

    2013-12-01

    The coherent, interlayer resistance of a misoriented, rotated interface between two stacks of AB graphite is determined for a variety of misorientation angles. The quantum-resistance of the ideal AB stack is on the order of 1 to 10 mΩ μm2. For small rotation angles, the coherent interlayer resistance exponentially approaches the ideal quantum resistance at energies away from the charge neutrality point. Over a range of intermediate angles, the resistance increases exponentially with cell size for minimum size unit cells. Larger cell sizes, of similar angles, may not follow this trend. The energy dependence of the interlayer transmission is described.

  2. Cyclotron resonance of the magnetic ratchet effect and second harmonic generation in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kheirabadi, Narjes; McCann, Edward; Fal'ko, Vladimir I.

    2018-02-01

    We model the magnetic ratchet effect in bilayer graphene in which a dc electric current is produced by an ac electric field of frequency ω in the presence of a steady in-plane magnetic field and inversion-symmetry breaking. In bilayer graphene, the ratchet effect is tunable by an external metallic gate which breaks inversion symmetry. For zero in-plane magnetic field, we show that trigonal warping and inversion-symmetry breaking are able to produce a large dc valley current, but not a nonzero total dc charge current. For the magnetic ratchet in a tilted magnetic field, the perpendicular field component induces cyclotron motion with frequency ωc and we find that the dc current displays cyclotron resonance at ωc=ω , although this peak in the current is actually smaller than its value at ωc=0 . Second harmonic generation, however, is greatly enhanced by resonances at ωc=ω and ωc=2 ω for which the current is generally much larger than at ωc=0 .

  3. Unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle graphene superlattices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cao, Yuan; Fatemi, Valla; Fang, Shiang; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Kaxiras, Efthimios; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo

    2018-04-01

    The behaviour of strongly correlated materials, and in particular unconventional superconductors, has been studied extensively for decades, but is still not well understood. This lack of theoretical understanding has motivated the development of experimental techniques for studying such behaviour, such as using ultracold atom lattices to simulate quantum materials. Here we report the realization of intrinsic unconventional superconductivity—which cannot be explained by weak electron–phonon interactions—in a two-dimensional superlattice created by stacking two sheets of graphene that are twisted relative to each other by a small angle. For twist angles of about 1.1°—the first ‘magic’ angle—the electronic band structure of this ‘twisted bilayer graphene’ exhibits flat bands near zero Fermi energy, resulting in correlated insulating states at half-filling. Upon electrostatic doping of the material away from these correlated insulating states, we observe tunable zero-resistance states with a critical temperature of up to 1.7 kelvin. The temperature–carrier-density phase diagram of twisted bilayer graphene is similar to that of copper oxides (or cuprates), and includes dome-shaped regions that correspond to superconductivity. Moreover, quantum oscillations in the longitudinal resistance of the material indicate the presence of small Fermi surfaces near the correlated insulating states, in analogy with underdoped cuprates. The relatively high superconducting critical temperature of twisted bilayer graphene, given such a small Fermi surface (which corresponds to a carrier density of about 1011 per square centimetre), puts it among the superconductors with the strongest pairing strength between electrons. Twisted bilayer graphene is a precisely tunable, purely carbon-based, two-dimensional superconductor. It is therefore an ideal material for investigations of strongly correlated phenomena, which could lead to insights into the physics of high

  4. Weighted stacking of seismic AVO data using hybrid AB semblance and local similarity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deng, Pan; Chen, Yangkang; Zhang, Yu; Zhou, Hua-Wei

    2016-04-01

    The common-midpoint (CMP) stacking technique plays an important role in enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in seismic data processing and imaging. Weighted stacking is often used to improve the performance of conventional equal-weight stacking in further attenuating random noise and handling the amplitude variations in real seismic data. In this study, we propose to use a hybrid framework of combining AB semblance and a local-similarity-weighted stacking scheme. The objective is to achieve an optimal stacking of the CMP gathers with class II amplitude-variation-with-offset (AVO) polarity-reversal anomaly. The selection of high-quality near-offset reference trace is another innovation of this work because of its better preservation of useful energy. Applications to synthetic and field seismic data demonstrate a great improvement using our method to capture the true locations of weak reflections, distinguish thin-bed tuning artifacts, and effectively attenuate random noise.

  5. Stacking sequence and interlayer coupling in few-layer graphene revealed by in situ imaging

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Zhu-Jun; Dong, Jichen; Cui, Yi

    In the transition from graphene to graphite, the addition of each individual graphene layer modifies the electronic structure and produces a different material with unique properties. Controlled growth of few-layer graphene is therefore of fundamental interest and will provide access to materials with engineered electronic structure. Here we combine isothermal growth and etching experiments with in situ scanning electron microscopy to reveal the stacking sequence and interlayer coupling strength in few-layer graphene. The observed layer-dependent etching rates reveal the relative strength of the graphene graphene and graphene substrate interaction and the resulting mode of adlayer growth. Scanning tunnelling microscopy andmore » density functional theory calculations confirm a strong coupling between graphene edge atoms and platinum. Simulated etching confirms that etching can be viewed as reversed growth. This work demonstrates that real-time imaging under controlled atmosphere is a powerful method for designing synthesis protocols for sp2 carbon nanostructures in between graphene and graphite.« less

  6. Stacking sequence and interlayer coupling in few-layer graphene revealed by in situ imaging

    DOE PAGES

    Wang, Zhu-Jun; Dong, Jichen; Cui, Yi; ...

    2016-10-19

    In the transition from graphene to graphite, the addition of each individual graphene layer modifies the electronic structure and produces a different material with unique properties. Controlled growth of few-layer graphene is therefore of fundamental interest and will provide access to materials with engineered electronic structure. Here we combine isothermal growth and etching experiments with in situ scanning electron microscopy to reveal the stacking sequence and interlayer coupling strength in few-layer graphene. The observed layer-dependent etching rates reveal the relative strength of the graphene graphene and graphene substrate interaction and the resulting mode of adlayer growth. Scanning tunnelling microscopy andmore » density functional theory calculations confirm a strong coupling between graphene edge atoms and platinum. Simulated etching confirms that etching can be viewed as reversed growth. This work demonstrates that real-time imaging under controlled atmosphere is a powerful method for designing synthesis protocols for sp2 carbon nanostructures in between graphene and graphite.« less

  7. Synthesis and Application of Graphene Based Nanomaterials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peng, Zhiwei

    Graphene, a two-dimensional sp2-bonded carbon material, has recently attracted major attention due to its excellent electrical, optical and mechanical properties. Depending on different applications, graphene and its derived hybrid nanomaterials can be synthesized by either bottom-up chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods for electronics, or various top-down chemical reaction methods for energy generation and storage devices. My thesis begins with the investigation of CVD synthesis of graphene thin films in Chapter 1, including the direct growth of bilayer graphene on insulating substrates and synthesis of "rebar graphene": a hybrid structure with graphene and carbon or boron nitride nanotubes. Chapter 2 discusses the synthesis of nanoribbon-shaped materials and their applications, including splitting of vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube carpets for supercapacitors, synthesis of dispersable ferromagnetic graphene nanoribbon stacks with enhanced electrical percolation properties in magnetic field, graphene nanoribbon/SnO 2 nanocomposite for lithium ion batteries, and enhanced electrocatalysis for hydrogen evolution reactions from WS2 nanoribbons. Next, Chapter 3 discusses graphene coated iron oxide nanomaterials and their use in energy storage applications. Finally, Chapter 4 introduces the development, characterization, and fabrication of laser induced graphene and its application as supercapacitors.

  8. van der Waals Heterostructures with High Accuracy Rotational Alignment.

    PubMed

    Kim, Kyounghwan; Yankowitz, Matthew; Fallahazad, Babak; Kang, Sangwoo; Movva, Hema C P; Huang, Shengqiang; Larentis, Stefano; Corbet, Chris M; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Banerjee, Sanjay K; LeRoy, Brian J; Tutuc, Emanuel

    2016-03-09

    We describe the realization of van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures with accurate rotational alignment of individual layer crystal axes. We illustrate the approach by demonstrating a Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene formed using successive transfers of monolayer graphene flakes. The Raman spectra of this artificial bilayer graphene possess a wide 2D band, which is best fit by four Lorentzians, consistent with Bernal stacking. Scanning tunneling microscopy reveals no moiré pattern on the artificial bilayer graphene, and tunneling spectroscopy as a function of gate voltage reveals a constant density of states, also in agreement with Bernal stacking. In addition, electron transport probed in dual-gated samples reveals a band gap opening as a function of transverse electric field. To illustrate the applicability of this technique to realize vdW heterostructuctures in which the functionality is critically dependent on rotational alignment, we demonstrate resonant tunneling double bilayer graphene heterostructures separated by hexagonal boron-nitride dielectric.

  9. Effect of Solvent Dielectric Constant on the Formation of Large Flat Bilayer Stacks in a Lecithin/Hexadecanol Hydrogel.

    PubMed

    Nakagawa, Yasuharu; Nakazawa, Hiromitsu; Kato, Satoru

    2016-07-12

    We investigated the effect of dielectric properties of the aqueous medium on the novel type of hydrogel composed of a crude lecithin mixture (PC70) and hexadecanol (HD), in which charged sheet-like bilayers are kept far apart due to interbilayer repulsive interaction. We used dipropylene glycol (DPG) as a modifier of the dielectric properties and examined its effect on the hydrogel by synchrotron X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy, and freeze-fracture electron microscopy. We found that at a DPG weight fraction in the aqueous medium WDPG ≈ 0.4, the bilayer organization is transformed into unusually large flat bilayer stacks with a regular lamellar spacing of 6.25 nm and consequently disintegration of the hydrogel takes place. Semiquantitative calculation of the interbilayer interaction energy based on the Deyaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory suggested that the reduction of the aqueous medium dielectric constant ε by DPG may lower the energy barrier preventing flat bilayers from coming closer together. We inferred that the size of the bilayer sheet increases because the reduction of ε promotes protonation of acidic lipids that work as edge-capping molecules.

  10. Electron transport in graphene/graphene side-contact junction by plane-wave multiple-scattering method

    DOE PAGES

    Li, Xiang-Guo; Chu, Iek-Heng; Zhang, X. -G.; ...

    2015-05-28

    Electron transport in graphene is along the sheet but junction devices are often made by stacking different sheets together in a “side-contact” geometry which causes the current to flow perpendicular to the sheets within the device. Such geometry presents a challenge to first-principles transport methods. We solve this problem by implementing a plane-wave-based multiple-scattering theory for electron transport. In this study, this implementation improves the computational efficiency over the existing plane-wave transport code, scales better for parallelization over large number of nodes, and does not require the current direction to be along a lattice axis. As a first application, wemore » calculate the tunneling current through a side-contact graphene junction formed by two separate graphene sheets with the edges overlapping each other. We find that transport properties of this junction depend strongly on the AA or AB stacking within the overlapping region as well as the vacuum gap between two graphene sheets. Finally, such transport behaviors are explained in terms of carbon orbital orientation, hybridization, and delocalization as the geometry is varied.« less

  11. Raman study of annealed two-dimensional heterostructure of graphene on hexagonal boron nitride

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Souibgui, Mourad; Ajlani, Hosni; Cavanna, Antonnella; Oueslati, Meherzi; Meftah, Abdelaziz; Madouri, Ali

    2017-12-01

    In this paper, we investigate stacked 2D graphene layers on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). The graphene is obtained by high-quality chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and transferred to the h-BN substrate. We focus our attention on annealing effect at 1040 °C on single graphene layer (SGL) and bilayer graphene (BLG) on h-BN substrate using Raman spectroscopy. Our results show, before annealing, a twist angle θ = 0.63 ° between the SGL and the h-BN substrate and a twist angle 3 ° <θG1G2 < 8 ° between the two graphene layers of the BLG. After annealing, the analysis of the graphene G and 2D bands show a rotational reorientation of the graphene layer with respect to the h-BN substrate. Raman mapping also shows that the rotational reorientation is spatially dependent.

  12. Layer-dependent band alignment of few layers of blue phosphorus and their van der Waals heterostructures with graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pontes, Renato B.; Miwa, Roberto H.; da Silva, Antônio J. R.; Fazzio, Adalberto; Padilha, José E.

    2018-06-01

    The structural and electronic properties of few layers of blue phosphorus and their van der Waals heterostructures with graphene were investigated by means of first-principles electronic structure calculations. We study the four energetically most stable stacking configurations for multilayers of blue phosphorus. For all of them, the indirect band-gap semiconductor character, are preserved. We show that the properties of monolayer graphene and single-layer (bilayer) blue phosphorus are preserved in the van der Waals heterostructures. Further, our results reveal that under a perpendicular applied electric field, the position of the band structure of blue phosphorus with respect to that of graphene is tunable, enabling the effective control of the Schottky barrier height. Indeed, for the bilayer blue phosphorene on top of graphene, it is possible to even move the system into an Ohmic contact and induce a doping level of the blue phosphorene. All of these features are fundamental for the design of new nanodevices based on van der Waals heterostructures.

  13. Lifshitz transition and thermoelectric properties of bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suszalski, Dominik; Rut, Grzegorz; Rycerz, Adam

    2018-03-01

    This is a numerical study of thermoelectric properties of ballistic bilayer graphene in the presence of a trigonal warping term in the effective Hamiltonian. We find, in the mesoscopic samples of the length L >10 μ m at sub-Kelvin temperatures, that both the Seebeck coefficient and the Lorentz number show anomalies (the additional maximum and minimum, respectively) when the electrochemical potential is close to the Lifshitz energy, which can be attributed to the presence of the van Hove singularity in a bulk density of states. At higher temperatures the anomalies vanish, but measurable quantities characterizing the remaining maximum of the Seebeck coefficient still unveil the presence of massless Dirac fermions and make it possible to determine the trigonal warping strength. Behavior of the thermoelectric figure of merit (Z T ) is also discussed.

  14. Stacked multilayers of alternating reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes for planar supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moon, Geon Dae; Joo, Ji Bong; Yin, Yadong

    2013-11-01

    A simple layer-by-layer approach has been developed for constructing 2D planar supercapacitors of multi-stacked reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes. This sandwiched 2D architecture enables the full utilization of the maximum active surface area of rGO nanosheets by using a CNT layer as a porous physical spacer to enhance the permeation of a gel electrolyte inside the structure and reduce the agglomeration of rGO nanosheets along the vertical direction. As a result, the stacked multilayers of rGO and CNTs are capable of offering higher output voltage and current production.A simple layer-by-layer approach has been developed for constructing 2D planar supercapacitors of multi-stacked reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes. This sandwiched 2D architecture enables the full utilization of the maximum active surface area of rGO nanosheets by using a CNT layer as a porous physical spacer to enhance the permeation of a gel electrolyte inside the structure and reduce the agglomeration of rGO nanosheets along the vertical direction. As a result, the stacked multilayers of rGO and CNTs are capable of offering higher output voltage and current production. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental details, SEM and TEM images and additional electrochemical data. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr04339h

  15. Stacking sequence and interlayer coupling in few-layer graphene revealed by in situ imaging

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Zhu-Jun; Dong, Jichen; Cui, Yi; Eres, Gyula; Timpe, Olaf; Fu, Qiang; Ding, Feng; Schloegl, R.; Willinger, Marc-Georg

    2016-01-01

    In the transition from graphene to graphite, the addition of each individual graphene layer modifies the electronic structure and produces a different material with unique properties. Controlled growth of few-layer graphene is therefore of fundamental interest and will provide access to materials with engineered electronic structure. Here we combine isothermal growth and etching experiments with in situ scanning electron microscopy to reveal the stacking sequence and interlayer coupling strength in few-layer graphene. The observed layer-dependent etching rates reveal the relative strength of the graphene–graphene and graphene–substrate interaction and the resulting mode of adlayer growth. Scanning tunnelling microscopy and density functional theory calculations confirm a strong coupling between graphene edge atoms and platinum. Simulated etching confirms that etching can be viewed as reversed growth. This work demonstrates that real-time imaging under controlled atmosphere is a powerful method for designing synthesis protocols for sp2 carbon nanostructures in between graphene and graphite. PMID:27759024

  16. Atomic and electronic structure of trilayer graphene/SiC(0001): Evidence of Strong Dependence on Stacking Sequence and charge transfer.

    PubMed

    Pierucci, Debora; Brumme, Thomas; Girard, Jean-Christophe; Calandra, Matteo; Silly, Mathieu G; Sirotti, Fausto; Barbier, Antoine; Mauri, Francesco; Ouerghi, Abdelkarim

    2016-09-15

    The transport properties of few-layer graphene are the directly result of a peculiar band structure near the Dirac point. Here, for epitaxial graphene grown on SiC, we determine the effect of charge transfer from the SiC substrate on the local density of states (LDOS) of trilayer graphene using scaning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). Different spectra are observed and are attributed to the existence of two stable polytypes of trilayer: Bernal (ABA) and rhomboedreal (ABC) staking. Their electronic properties strongly depend on the charge transfer from the substrate. We show that the LDOS of ABC stacking shows an additional peak located above the Dirac point in comparison with the LDOS of ABA stacking. The observed LDOS features, reflecting the underlying symmetry of the two polytypes, were reproduced by explicit calculations within density functional theory (DFT) including the charge transfer from the substrate. These findings demonstrate the pronounced effect of stacking order and charge transfer on the electronic structure of trilayer or few layer graphene. Our approach represents a significant step toward understand the electronic properties of graphene layer under electrical field.

  17. Diffusion quantum Monte Carlo and density functional calculations of the structural stability of bilayer arsenene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kadioglu, Yelda; Santana, Juan A.; Özaydin, H. Duygu; Ersan, Fatih; Aktürk, O. Üzengi; Aktürk, Ethem; Reboredo, Fernando A.

    2018-06-01

    We have studied the structural stability of monolayer and bilayer arsenene (As) in the buckled (b) and washboard (w) phases with diffusion quantum Monte Carlo (DMC) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. DMC yields cohesive energies of 2.826(2) eV/atom for monolayer b-As and 2.792(3) eV/atom for w-As. In the case of bilayer As, DMC and DFT predict that AA-stacking is the more stable form of b-As, while AB is the most stable form of w-As. The DMC layer-layer binding energies for b-As-AA and w-As-AB are 30(1) and 53(1) meV/atom, respectively. The interlayer separations were estimated with DMC at 3.521(1) Å for b-As-AA and 3.145(1) Å for w-As-AB. A comparison of DMC and DFT results shows that the van der Waals density functional method yields energetic properties of arsenene close to DMC, while the DFT + D3 method closely reproduced the geometric properties from DMC. The electronic properties of monolayer and bilayer arsenene were explored with various DFT methods. The bandgap values vary significantly with the DFT method, but the results are generally qualitatively consistent. We expect the present work to be useful for future experiments attempting to prepare multilayer arsenene and for further development of DFT methods for weakly bonded systems.

  18. Ordered and layered structure of liquid nitromethane within a graphene bilayer: toward stabilization of energetic materials through nanoscale confinement.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yingzhe; Yu, Tao; Lai, Weipeng; Kang, Ying; Ge, Zhongxue

    2015-03-01

    The structural characteristics involving thermal stabilities of liquid nitromethane (NM)—one of the simplest energetic materials—confined within a graphene (GRA) bilayer were investigated by means of all-atom molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory calculations. The results show that ordered and layered structures are formed at the confinement of the GRA bilayer induced by the van der Waals attractions of NM with GRA and the dipole-dipole interactions of NM, which is strongly dependent on the confinement size, i.e., the GRA bilayer distance. These unique intermolecular arrangements and preferred orientations of confined NM lead to higher stabilities than bulk NM revealed by bond dissociation energy calculations.

  19. Ab initio phonon point defect scattering and thermal transport in graphene

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Polanco, Carlos A.; Lindsay, Lucas R.

    Here, we study the scattering of phonons from point defects and their effect on lattice thermal conductivity κ using a parameter-free ab initio Green's function methodology. Specifically, we focus on the scattering of phonons by boron (B), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus substitutions as well as single- and double-carbon vacancies in graphene. We show that changes of the atomic structure and harmonic interatomic force constants locally near defects govern the strength and frequency trends of the scattering of out-of-plane acoustic (ZA) phonons, the dominant heat carriers in graphene. ZA scattering rates due to N substitutions are nearly an order of magnitudemore » smaller than those for B defects despite having similar mass perturbations. Furthermore, ZA phonon scattering rates from N defects decrease with increasing frequency in the lower-frequency spectrum in stark contrast to expected trends from simple models. ZA phonon-vacancy scattering rates are found to have a significantly softer frequency dependence (~ω 0) in graphene than typically employed in phenomenological models. The rigorous Green's function calculations demonstrate that typical mass-defect models do not adequately describe ZA phonon-defect scattering rates. Our ab initio calculations capture well the trend of κ vs vacancy density from experiments, though not the magnitudes. In conclusion, this work elucidates important insights into phonon-defect scattering and thermal transport in graphene, and demonstrates the applicability of first-principles methods toward describing these properties in imperfect materials.« less

  20. Ab initio phonon point defect scattering and thermal transport in graphene

    DOE PAGES

    Polanco, Carlos A.; Lindsay, Lucas R.

    2018-01-04

    Here, we study the scattering of phonons from point defects and their effect on lattice thermal conductivity κ using a parameter-free ab initio Green's function methodology. Specifically, we focus on the scattering of phonons by boron (B), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus substitutions as well as single- and double-carbon vacancies in graphene. We show that changes of the atomic structure and harmonic interatomic force constants locally near defects govern the strength and frequency trends of the scattering of out-of-plane acoustic (ZA) phonons, the dominant heat carriers in graphene. ZA scattering rates due to N substitutions are nearly an order of magnitudemore » smaller than those for B defects despite having similar mass perturbations. Furthermore, ZA phonon scattering rates from N defects decrease with increasing frequency in the lower-frequency spectrum in stark contrast to expected trends from simple models. ZA phonon-vacancy scattering rates are found to have a significantly softer frequency dependence (~ω 0) in graphene than typically employed in phenomenological models. The rigorous Green's function calculations demonstrate that typical mass-defect models do not adequately describe ZA phonon-defect scattering rates. Our ab initio calculations capture well the trend of κ vs vacancy density from experiments, though not the magnitudes. In conclusion, this work elucidates important insights into phonon-defect scattering and thermal transport in graphene, and demonstrates the applicability of first-principles methods toward describing these properties in imperfect materials.« less

  1. Ab initio phonon point defect scattering and thermal transport in graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Polanco, Carlos A.; Lindsay, Lucas

    2018-01-01

    We study the scattering of phonons from point defects and their effect on lattice thermal conductivity κ using a parameter-free ab initio Green's function methodology. Specifically, we focus on the scattering of phonons by boron (B), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus substitutions as well as single- and double-carbon vacancies in graphene. We show that changes of the atomic structure and harmonic interatomic force constants locally near defects govern the strength and frequency trends of the scattering of out-of-plane acoustic (ZA) phonons, the dominant heat carriers in graphene. ZA scattering rates due to N substitutions are nearly an order of magnitude smaller than those for B defects despite having similar mass perturbations. Furthermore, ZA phonon scattering rates from N defects decrease with increasing frequency in the lower-frequency spectrum in stark contrast to expected trends from simple models. ZA phonon-vacancy scattering rates are found to have a significantly softer frequency dependence (˜ω0 ) in graphene than typically employed in phenomenological models. The rigorous Green's function calculations demonstrate that typical mass-defect models do not adequately describe ZA phonon-defect scattering rates. Our ab initio calculations capture well the trend of κ vs vacancy density from experiments, though not the magnitudes. This work elucidates important insights into phonon-defect scattering and thermal transport in graphene, and demonstrates the applicability of first-principles methods toward describing these properties in imperfect materials.

  2. High Volumetric Energy Density Asymmetric Supercapacitors Based on Well-Balanced Graphene and Graphene-MnO2 Electrodes with Densely Stacked Architectures.

    PubMed

    Sheng, Lizhi; Jiang, Lili; Wei, Tong; Fan, Zhuangjun

    2016-10-01

    The well-matched electrochemical parameters of positive and negative electrodes, such as specific capacitance, rate performance, and cycling stability, are important for obtaining high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors. Herein, a facile and cost-effective strategy is demonstrated for the fabrication of 3D densely stacked graphene (DSG) and graphene-MnO 2 (G-MnO 2 ) architectures as the electrode materials for asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) by using MnO 2 -intercalated graphite oxide (GO-MnO 2 ) as the precursor. DSG has a stacked graphene structure with continuous ion transport network in-between the sheets, resulting in a high volumetric capacitance of 366 F cm -3 , almost 2.5 times than that of reduced graphene oxide, as well as long cycle life (93% capacitance retention after 10 000 cycles). More importantly, almost similar electrochemical properties, such as specific capacitance, rate performance, and cycling stability, are obtained for DSG as the negative electrode and G-MnO 2 as the positive electrode. As a result, the assembled ASC delivers both ultrahigh gravimetric and volumetric energy densities of 62.4 Wh kg -1 and 54.4 Wh L -1 (based on total volume of two electrodes) in 1 m Na 2 SO 4 aqueous electrolyte, respectively, much higher than most of previously reported ASCs in aqueous electrolytes. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Continuous and reversible tuning of the disorder-driven superconductor–insulator transition in bilayer graphene

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Gil-Ho; Jeong, Dongchan; Park, Kee-Su; Meir, Yigal; Cha, Min-Chul; Lee, Hu-Jong

    2015-01-01

    The influence of static disorder on a quantum phase transition (QPT) is a fundamental issue in condensed matter physics. As a prototypical example of a disorder-tuned QPT, the superconductor–insulator transition (SIT) has been investigated intensively over the past three decades, but as yet without a general consensus on its nature. A key element is good control of disorder. Here, we present an experimental study of the SIT based on precise in-situ tuning of disorder in dual-gated bilayer graphene proximity-coupled to two superconducting electrodes through electrical and reversible control of the band gap and the charge carrier density. In the presence of a static disorder potential, Andreev-paired carriers formed close to the Fermi level in bilayer graphene constitute a randomly distributed network of proximity-induced superconducting puddles. The landscape of the network was easily tuned by electrical gating to induce percolative clusters at the onset of superconductivity. This is evidenced by scaling behavior consistent with the classical percolation in transport measurements. At lower temperatures, the solely electrical tuning of the disorder-induced landscape enables us to observe, for the first time, a crossover from classical to quantum percolation in a single device, which elucidates how thermal dephasing engages in separating the two regimes. PMID:26310774

  4. Continuous and reversible tuning of the disorder-driven superconductor-insulator transition in bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Lee, Gil-Ho; Jeong, Dongchan; Park, Kee-Su; Meir, Yigal; Cha, Min-Chul; Lee, Hu-Jong

    2015-08-27

    The influence of static disorder on a quantum phase transition (QPT) is a fundamental issue in condensed matter physics. As a prototypical example of a disorder-tuned QPT, the superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) has been investigated intensively over the past three decades, but as yet without a general consensus on its nature. A key element is good control of disorder. Here, we present an experimental study of the SIT based on precise in-situ tuning of disorder in dual-gated bilayer graphene proximity-coupled to two superconducting electrodes through electrical and reversible control of the band gap and the charge carrier density. In the presence of a static disorder potential, Andreev-paired carriers formed close to the Fermi level in bilayer graphene constitute a randomly distributed network of proximity-induced superconducting puddles. The landscape of the network was easily tuned by electrical gating to induce percolative clusters at the onset of superconductivity. This is evidenced by scaling behavior consistent with the classical percolation in transport measurements. At lower temperatures, the solely electrical tuning of the disorder-induced landscape enables us to observe, for the first time, a crossover from classical to quantum percolation in a single device, which elucidates how thermal dephasing engages in separating the two regimes.

  5. Van Hove singularities and excitonic effects in the optical conductivity of twisted bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Havener, Robin W; Liang, Yufeng; Brown, Lola; Yang, Li; Park, Jiwoong

    2014-06-11

    We report a systematic study of the optical conductivity of twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) across a large energy range (1.2-5.6 eV) for various twist angles, combined with first-principles calculations. At previously unexplored high energies, our data show signatures of multiple van Hove singularities (vHSs) in the tBLG bands as well as the nonlinearity of the single layer graphene bands and their electron-hole asymmetry. Our data also suggest that excitonic effects play a vital role in the optical spectra of tBLG. Including electron-hole interactions in first-principles calculations is essential to reproduce the shape of the conductivity spectra, and we find evidence of coherent interactions between the states associated with the multiple vHSs in tBLG.

  6. Dynamic Cooperation of Hydrogen Binding and π Stacking in ssDNA Adsorption on Graphene Oxide.

    PubMed

    Xu, Zhen; Lei, Xiaoling; Tu, Yusong; Tan, Zhi-Jie; Song, Bo; Fang, Haiping

    2017-09-21

    Functional nanoscale structures consisting of a DNA molecule coupled to graphene or graphene oxide (GO) have great potential for applications in biosensors, biomedicine, nanotechnology, and materials science. Extensive studies using the most sophisticated experimental techniques and theoretical methods have still not clarified the dynamic process of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) adsorbed on GO surfaces. Based on a molecular dynamics simulation, this work shows that an ssDNA segment could be stably adsorbed on a GO surface through hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking interactions, with preferential binding to the oxidized rather than to the unoxidized region of the GO surface. The adsorption process shows a dynamic cooperation adsorption behavior; the ssDNA segment first captures the oxidized groups of the GO surface by hydrogen bonding interaction, and then the configuration relaxes to maximize the π-π stacking interactions between the aromatic rings of the nucleobases and those of the GO surface. We attributed this behavior to the faster forming hydrogen bonding interaction compared to π-π stacking; the π-π stacking interaction needs more relaxation time to regulate the configuration of the ssDNA segment to fit the aromatic rings on the GO surface. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Generation of valley-polarized electron beam in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, Changsoo

    2015-12-01

    We propose a method to produce valley-polarized electron beams using a bilayer graphene npn junction. By analyzing the transmission properties of electrons through the junction with zigzag interface in the presence of trigonal warping, we observe that there exist a range of incident energies and barrier heights in which transmitted electrons are well polarized and collimated. From this observation and by performing numerical simulations, it is demonstrated that valley-dependent electronic currents with nearly perfect polarization can be generated. We also show that the peak-to-peak separation angle between the polarized currents is tunable either by incident energy or by barrier height each of which is controlled by using top and back gate voltages. The results can be used for constructing an electron beam splitter to produce valley-polarized currents.

  8. Rich magneto-absorption spectra of AAB-stacked trilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Do, Thi-Nga; Shih, Po-Hsin; Chang, Cheng-Peng; Lin, Chiun-Yan; Lin, Ming-Fa

    2016-06-29

    A generalized tight-binding model is developed to investigate the feature-rich magneto-optical properties of AAB-stacked trilayer graphene. Three intragroup and six intergroup inter-Landau-level (inter-LL) optical excitations largely enrich magneto-absorption peaks. In general, the former are much higher than the latter, depending on the phases and amplitudes of LL wavefunctions. The absorption spectra exhibit single- or twin-peak structures which are determined by quantum modes, LL energy spectra and Fermion distribution. The splitting LLs, with different localization centers (2/6 and 4/6 positions in a unit cell), can generate very distinct absorption spectra. There exist extra single peaks because of LL anti-crossings. AAB, AAA, ABA, and ABC stackings considerably differ from one another in terms of the inter-LL category, frequency, intensity, and structure of absorption peaks. The main characteristics of LL wavefunctions and energy spectra and the Fermi-Dirac function are responsible for the configuration-enriched magneto-optical spectra.

  9. Electrically Controlled Coherent Excitonic Steady States in Semiconductor Bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xie, Ming; MacDonald, Allan

    Spatially indirect excitons are long lived bosonic quasiparticles that can form quasi-equilibrium condensed states. Optical access to these excitons has been limited by their small optical matrix elements. Here we propose a promising electrical process that can be used both to populate and to probe fluids of indirect excitons, and is analogous to the crossed Andreev reflection (CAR) process of Cooper pairs in superconductors. We consider vertically stacked multilayer heterostructures containing two transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) layers that host the indirect excitons, graphene layers on the top and the bottom of the heterostructure, and hBN tunnel barrier layers of variable thickness. When the bias voltage between the graphene leads is smaller than the indirect gap, tunneling between the graphene leads and the TMD hetero-bilayer is possible only through the CAR process. Both DC and low frequency AC bias cases are explored and establish that electrical measurements can be used to determine crucial properties such as the condensate density, interaction strength and CAR tunneling amplitudes. We have also proposed a way to electrically manipulate another type of bosonic quasiparticles, cavity exciton-polaritons, in a laterally contacted structure.

  10. Probing π-π stacking modulation of g-C3N4/graphene heterojunctions and corresponding role of graphene on photocatalytic activity.

    PubMed

    Ma, Xinguo; Wei, Yang; Wei, Zhen; He, Hua; Huang, Chuyun; Zhu, Yongfa

    2017-12-15

    The photoelectrochemical properties of g-C 3 N 4 sheet are modified by the π-π stacking interaction with graphene, and the corresponding role of graphene on the surface chemical reactions is investigated by density functional theory. The calculated cohesive energies and the lattice mismatch energies indicate that g-C 3 N 4 and graphene are in parallel contact and can form a stable heterojunction. According to our calculated energy band structures and work functions of g-C 3 N 4 /graphene heterojunctions, the band edge modulations by graphene are discussed and corresponding photoinduced charge transfer processes are analyzed in detail. It is found that the incorporating of graphene into g-C 3 N 4 facilitates the separation of photoinduced e - /h + pairs and the oxidation capacity enhancement of the photoinduced holes with the downshifting of the valence band edge of g-C 3 N 4 layer. It is identified that the inhomogeneous onsite energies between interlayer and the band edge modulations are induced by the inhomogeneous charge redistribution between interlayer caused by graphene. Further, the initial dynamic reaction processes of oxygen atoms in g-C 3 N 4 /graphene heterojunctions also confirm the significant role of graphene on the surface chemical reactions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Topological approach to quantum Hall effects and its important applications: higher Landau levels, graphene and its bilayer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jacak, Janusz; Łydżba, Patrycja; Jacak, Lucjan

    2017-05-01

    In this paper the topological approach to quantum Hall effects is carefully described. Commensurability conditions together with proposed generators of a system braid group are employed to establish the fractional quantum Hall effect hierarchies of conventional semiconductors, monolayer and bilayer graphene structures. Obtained filling factors are compared with experimental data and a very good agreement is achieved. Preliminary constructions of ground-state wave functions in the lowest Landau level are put forward. Furthermore, this work explains why pyramids of fillings from higher bands are not counterparts of the well-known composite-fermion hierarchy - it provides with the cause for an intriguing robustness of ν = 7/3 , 8/3 and 5/2 states (also in graphene). The argumentation why paired states can be developed in two-subband systems (wide quantum wells) only when the Fermi energy lies in the first Landau level is specified. Finally, the paper also clarifies how an additional surface in bilayer systems contributes to an observation of the fractional quantum Hall effect near half-filling, ν = 1/2 .

  12. Josephson coupling between superconducting islands on single- and bi-layer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mancarella, Francesco; Fransson, Jonas; Balatsky, Alexander

    2016-05-01

    We study the Josephson coupling of superconducting (SC) islands through the surface of single-layer graphene (SLG) and bilayer graphene (BLG) in the long-junction regime, as a function of the distance between the grains, temperature, chemical potential and external (transverse) gate-voltage. For SLG, we provide a comparison with existing literature. The proximity effect is analyzed through a Matsubara Green’s function approach. This represents the first step in a discussion of the conditions for the onset of a granular superconductivity within the film, made possible by Josephson currents flowing between superconductors. To ensure phase coherence over the 2D sample, a random spatial distribution can be assumed for the SC islands on the SLG sheet (or intercalating the BLG sheets). The tunable gate-voltage-induced band gap of BLG affects the asymptotic decay of the Josephson coupling-distance characteristic for each pair of SC islands in the sample, which results in a qualitatively strong field dependence of the relation between Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition critical temperature and gate voltage.

  13. Stacked multilayers of alternating reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes for planar supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Moon, Geon Dae; Joo, Ji Bong; Yin, Yadong

    2013-12-07

    A simple layer-by-layer approach has been developed for constructing 2D planar supercapacitors of multi-stacked reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes. This sandwiched 2D architecture enables the full utilization of the maximum active surface area of rGO nanosheets by using a CNT layer as a porous physical spacer to enhance the permeation of a gel electrolyte inside the structure and reduce the agglomeration of rGO nanosheets along the vertical direction. As a result, the stacked multilayers of rGO and CNTs are capable of offering higher output voltage and current production.

  14. Composites of Graphene Nanoribbon Stacks and Epoxy for Joule Heating and Deicing of Surfaces.

    PubMed

    Raji, Abdul-Rahman O; Varadhachary, Tanvi; Nan, Kewang; Wang, Tuo; Lin, Jian; Ji, Yongsung; Genorio, Bostjan; Zhu, Yu; Kittrell, Carter; Tour, James M

    2016-02-10

    A conductive composite of graphene nanoribbon (GNR) stacks and epoxy is fabricated. The epoxy is filled with the GNR stacks, which serve as a conductive additive. The GNR stacks are on average 30 nm thick, 250 nm wide, and 30 μm long. The GNR-filled epoxy composite exhibits a conductivity >100 S/m at 5 wt % GNR content. This permits application of the GNR-epoxy composite for deicing of surfaces through Joule (voltage-induced) heating generated by the voltage across the composite. A power density of 0.5 W/cm(2) was delivered to remove ∼1 cm-thick (14 g) monolith of ice from a static helicopter rotor blade surface in a -20 °C environment.

  15. Graphene Oxide Monolayer as a Compatibilizer at the Polymer-Polymer Interface for Stabilizing Polymer Bilayer Films against Dewetting.

    PubMed

    Kim, Tae-Ho; Kim, Hyeri; Choi, Ki-In; Yoo, Jeseung; Seo, Young-Soo; Lee, Jeong-Soo; Koo, Jaseung

    2016-12-06

    We investigate the effect of adding graphene oxide (GO) sheets at the polymer-polymer interface on the dewetting dynamics and compatibility of immiscible polymer bilayer films. GO monolayers are deposited at the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-polystyrene (PS) interface by the Langmuir-Schaefer technique. GO monolayers are found to significantly inhibit the dewetting behavior of both PMMA films (on PS substrates) and PS films (on PMMA substrates). This can be interpreted in terms of an interfacial interaction between the GO sheets and these polymers, which is evidenced by the reduced contact angle of the dewet droplets. The favorable interaction of GO with both PS and PMMA facilitates compatibilization of the immiscible polymer bilayer films, thereby stabilizing their bilayer films against dewetting. This compatibilization effect is verified by neutron reflectivity measurements, which reveal that the addition of GO monolayers broadens the interface between PS and the deuterated PMMA films by 2.2 times over that of the bilayer in the absence of GO.

  16. Influence of carrier density on the electronic cooling channels of bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Limmer, T.; Houtepen, A. J.; Niggebaum, A.; Tautz, R.; Da Como, E.

    2011-09-01

    We study the electronic cooling dynamics in a single flake of bilayer graphene by femtosecond transient absorption probing the photon-energy range 0.25-1.3 eV. From the transients, we extract the carrier cooling curves for different initial temperatures and densities of the photoexcited electrons and holes. Two regimes of carrier cooling, dominated by optical and acoustic phonons emission, are clearly identified. For increasing carrier density, the crossover between the two regimes occurs at larger carrier temperatures, since cooling via optical phonons experiences a bottleneck. Acoustic phonons, which are less sensitive to saturation, show an increasing contribution at high density.

  17. Understanding Defect-Stabilized Noncovalent Functionalization of Graphene

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhou, Hua; Uysal, Ahmet; Anjos, Daniela M.

    2015-09-01

    The noncovalent functionalization of graphene by small molecule aromatic adsorbates, phenanthrenequinone (PQ), is investigated systematically by combining electrochemical characterization, high-resolution interfacial X-ray scattering, and ab initio density functional theory calculations. The findings in this study reveal that while PQ deposited on pristine graphene is unstable to electrochemical cycling, the prior introduction of defects and oxygen functionality (hydroxyl and epoxide groups) to the basal plane by exposure to atomic radicals (i.e., oxygen plasma) effectively stabilizes its noncovalent functionalization by PQ adsorption. The structure of adsorbed PQ molecules resembles the graphene layer stacking and is further stabilized by hydrogen bonding with terminalmore » hydroxyl groups that form at defect sites within the graphene basal plane. The stabilized PQ/graphene interface demonstrates persistent redox activity associated with proton-coupled-electron-transfer reactions. The resultant PQ adsorbed structure is essentially independent of electrochemical potentials. These results highlight a facile approach to enhance functionalities of the otherwise chemically inert graphene using noncovalent interactions.« less

  18. Magnetoelectric effect in bilayer graphene controlled by valley-isospin density

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zülicke, U.; Winkler, R.

    2014-09-01

    We show that bilayer graphene (BLG) exhibits magnetoelectric (ME) effects that are formally similar to those commonly seen in band insulators with broken inversion and time-reversal symmetries. Three unusual features characterize the ME responses exhibited by BLG: (i) unlike most other ME media, BLG is a conductor, (ii) BLG has a nonquantized ME coupling even though its electronic structure does not break parity and time-reversal symmetry, and (iii) the magnitude of the ME coupling in BLG is determined by the valley-isospin density, which can be manipulated experimentally. This last property also enables a purely electric measurement of valley-isospin densities. Whilemore » our theoretical arguments use BLG as an example, they are generally valid for any material with similar symmetries« less

  19. Capacitance of graphenes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Young, Andrea; Dean, Cory; Meric, Inanc; Hone, Jim; Shepard, Ken; Kim, Philip

    2010-03-01

    Using a transfer procedure and single crystal hexagonal Boron Nitride gate dielectric, we are able to fabricate high mobility graphene devices with local top and back gates. The novel geometry of these devices allows us to measure the spatially averaged compressibility of mono- and bilayer graphene using the ``penetration field'' technique [Eisenstein, J.P. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 674 (1992)]. In particular, we analyze the the effects of strong transverse electric fields on the compressibility of graphenes, especially as pertains to charged impurity scattering in single layer graphene and the opening of an energy gap in bilayer.

  20. Solid-state dewetting of Au-Ni bi-layer films mediated through individual layer thickness and stacking sequence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herz, Andreas; Theska, Felix; Rossberg, Diana; Kups, Thomas; Wang, Dong; Schaaf, Peter

    2018-06-01

    In the present work, the solid-state dewetting of Au-Ni bi-layer thin films deposited on SiO2/Si is systematically studied with respect to individual layer thickness and stacking sequence. For this purpose, a rapid heat treatment at medium temperatures is applied in order to examine void formation at the early stages of the dewetting. Compositional variations are realized by changing the thickness ratio of the bi-layer films, while the total thickness is maintained at 20 nm throughout the study. In the event of Au/Ni films annealed at 500 °C, crystal voids exposing the substrate are missing regardless of chemical composition. In reverse order, the number of voids per unit area in two-phase Au-Ni thin films is found to be governed by the amount of Au-rich material. At higher temperatures up to 650 °C, a decreased probability of nucleation comes at the expense of a major portion of cavities, resulting in the formation of bubbles in 15 nm Ni/5 nm Au bi-layers. Film buckling predominantly occurred at phase boundaries crossing the bubbles.

  1. Bi-layer graphene structure with non-equivalent planes: Magnetic properties study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mhirech, A.; Aouini, S.; Alaoui-Ismaili, A.; Bahmad, L.

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, we study the magnetic properties of a ferromagnetic bi-layer graphene structure with non-equivalent planes. The geometry of the studied system is formed by two layers (A) and (B) consisting of the spins σ = 1 / 2 and S = 1 . For this purpose, the influence of the coupling exchange interactions, the external magnetic and the crystal fields are investigated and presented as well as the ground state phase diagrams. The Monte Carlo simulations have been used to examine the behavior of the partial and the total magnetizations as a function of the system parameters. These effects on the compensation and critical temperatures behavior are also presented in different phase diagrams, for the studied system.

  2. Ab initio and classical molecular dynamics studies of the structural and dynamical behavior of water near a hydrophobic graphene sheet.

    PubMed

    Rana, Malay Kumar; Chandra, Amalendu

    2013-05-28

    The behavior of water near a graphene sheet is investigated by means of ab initio and classical molecular dynamics simulations. The wetting of the graphene sheet by ab initio water and the relation of such behavior to the strength of classical dispersion interaction between surface atoms and water are explored. The first principles simulations reveal a layered solvation structure around the graphene sheet with a significant water density in the interfacial region implying no drying or cavitation effect. It is found that the ab initio results of water density at interfaces can be reproduced reasonably well by classical simulations with a tuned dispersion potential between the surface and water molecules. Calculations of vibrational power spectrum from ab initio simulations reveal a shift of the intramolecular stretch modes to higher frequencies for interfacial water molecules when compared with those of the second solvation later or bulk-like water due to the presence of free OH modes near the graphene sheet. Also, a weakening of the water-water hydrogen bonds in the vicinity of the graphene surface is found in our ab initio simulations as reflected in the shift of intermolecular vibrational modes to lower frequencies for interfacial water molecules. The first principles calculations also reveal that the residence and orientational dynamics of interfacial water are somewhat slower than those of the second layer or bulk-like molecules. However, the lateral diffusion and hydrogen bond relaxation of interfacial water molecules are found to occur at a somewhat faster rate than that of the bulk-like water molecules. The classical molecular dynamics simulations with tuned Lennard-Jones surface-water interaction are found to produce dynamical results that are qualitatively similar to those of ab initio molecular dynamics simulations.

  3. Chirality-Assisted Electronic Cloaking of Confined States in Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gu, Nan; Rudner, Mark; Levitov, Leonid

    2011-10-01

    We show that the strong coupling of pseudospin orientation and charge carrier motion in bilayer graphene has a drastic effect on transport properties of ballistic p-n-p junctions. Electronic states with zero momentum parallel to the barrier are confined under it for one pseudospin orientation, whereas states with the opposite pseudospin tunnel through the junction totally uninfluenced by the presence of confined states. We demonstrate that the junction acts as a cloak for confined states, making them nearly invisible to electrons in the outer regions over a range of incidence angles. This behavior is manifested in the two-terminal conductance as transmission resonances with non-Lorentzian, singular peak shapes. The response of these phenomena to a weak magnetic field or electric-field-induced interlayer gap can serve as an experimental fingerprint of electronic cloaking.

  4. Electron-hole collision limited transport in charge-neutral bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nam, Youngwoo; Ki, Dong-Keun; Soler-Delgado, David; Morpurgo, Alberto F.

    2017-12-01

    Ballistic transport occurs whenever electrons propagate without collisions deflecting their trajectory. It is normally observed in conductors with a negligible concentration of impurities, at low temperature, to avoid electron-phonon scattering. Here, we use suspended bilayer graphene devices to reveal a new regime, in which ballistic transport is not limited by scattering with phonons or impurities, but by electron-hole collisions. The phenomenon manifests itself in a negative four-terminal resistance that becomes visible when the density of holes (electrons) is suppressed by gate-shifting the Fermi level in the conduction (valence) band, above the thermal energy. For smaller densities, transport is diffusive, and the measured conductivity is reproduced quantitatively, with no fitting parameters, by including electron-hole scattering as the only process causing velocity relaxation. Experiments on a trilayer device show that the phenomenon is robust and that transport at charge neutrality is governed by the same physics. Our results provide a textbook illustration of a transport regime that had not been observed previously and clarify the nature of conduction through charge-neutral graphene under conditions in which carrier density inhomogeneity is immaterial. They also demonstrate that transport can be limited by a fully electronic mechanism, originating from the same microscopic processes that govern the physics of Dirac-like plasmas.

  5. Superconductivity in Li-intercalated bilayer arsenene and hole-doped monolayer arsenene: a first-principles prediction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Jianyong; Ge, Yanfeng; Zhou, Wenzhe; Peng, Mengqi; Pan, Jiangling; Ouyang, Fangping

    2018-06-01

    Using first-principles calculations, we find Li-intercalated bilayer arsenene with AB stacking is dynamically stable, which is different from pristine bilayer with AA stacking. Electron–phonon coupling of the stable Li-intercalated bilayer arsenene are dominated by the low frequency vibrational modes (E″(1), (1), E‧(1) and acoustic modes) and lead to an superconductivity with T c  =  8.68 K with isotropical Eliashberg function. Small biaxial tensile strain (2%) can improve T c to 11.22 K due to the increase of DOS and phonon softening. By considering the fully anisotropic Migdal–Eliashberg theory, T c are found to be enhanced by 50% and exhibits a single anisotropic gap nature. In addition, considering its nearly flat top valence band which is favorable for high temperature superconductivity, we also explore the superconducting properties of hole-doped monolayer arsenene under different strains. the unstrained monolayer arsenene superconducts at T c  =  0.22 K with 0.1 hole/cell doping. By applying 3% biaxial strain, T c can be lifted up strikingly to 6.69 K due to a strong Fermi nesting of the nearly flat band. Then T c decreases slowly with strain. Our findings provide another insight to realize 2D superconductivity and suggest that the strain is crucial to further enhance the transition temperature.

  6. Ab-Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Graphene Sheet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kolev, S.; Balchev, I.; Cvetkov, K.; Tinchev, S.; Milenov, T.

    2017-01-01

    The study of graphene is important because it is a promising material for a variety of applications in the electronic industry. In the present work, the properties of а 2D periodic graphene sheet are studied with the use of ab initio molecular dynamics. DFT in the generalized gradient approximation is used in order to carry out the dynamical simulations. The PBE functional and DZVP-MOLOPT basis set are implemented in the CP2K/Quickstep package. A periodic box, consisting of 288 carbon atoms is chosen for the simulations. After geometry optimization it has dimensions 2964 x 2964 x 1500 pm and form angles of 90, 90, 60 degrees. The dynamical simulation is run for 1 ps in the NPT ensemble, at temperature T = 298.15 K. The radial distribution function shows a first peak at 142 pm, marking the bond length between carbon atoms. The density of states for the periodic systems is simulated as occupied orbitals represent the valence band and unoccupied ones the conduction band. The calculated bandgap, as expected is close to 0 eV.

  7. Understanding Defect-Stabilized Noncovalent Functionalization of Graphene

    DOE PAGES

    Zhou, Hua; Uysal, Ahmet; Anjos, Daniela M.; ...

    2015-09-01

    For the noncovalent functionalization of graphene by small molecule aromatic adsorbates, phenanthrenequinone (PQ), is investigated systematically by combining electrochemical characterization, high-resolution interfacial X-ray scattering, and ab initio density functional theory calculations. The fi ndings in this study reveal that while PQ deposited on pristine graphene is unstable to electrochemical cycling, the prior introduction of defects and oxygen functionality (hydroxyl and epoxide groups) to the basal plane by exposure to atomic radicals (i.e., oxygen plasma) effectively stabilizes its noncovalent functionalization by PQ adsorption. Moreover, the structure of adsorbed PQ molecules resembles the graphene layer stacking and is further stabilized by hydrogenmore » bonding with terminal hydroxyl groups that form at defect sites within the graphene basal plane. The stabilized PQ/graphene interface demonstrates persistent redox activity associated with proton-coupled-electron-transfer reactions. The resultant PQ adsorbed structure is essentially independent of electrochemical potentials. Finally, these results highlight a facile approach to enhance functionalities of the otherwise chemically inert graphene using noncovalent interactions.« less

  8. Graphene analogue in (111)-oriented BaBiO3 bilayer heterostructures for topological electronics.

    PubMed

    Kim, Rokyeon; Yu, Jaejun; Jin, Hosub

    2018-01-11

    Topological electronics is a new field that uses topological charges as current-carrying degrees of freedom. For topological electronics applications, systems should host topologically distinct phases to control the topological domain boundary through which the topological charges can flow. Due to their multiple Dirac cones and the π-Berry phase of each Dirac cone, graphene-like electronic structures constitute an ideal platform for topological electronics; graphene can provide various topological phases when incorporated with large spin-orbit coupling and mass-gap tunability via symmetry-breaking. Here, we propose that a (111)-oriented BaBiO 3 bilayer (BBL) sandwiched between large-gap perovskite oxides is a promising candidate for topological electronics by realizing a gap-tunable, and consequently a topology-tunable, graphene analogue. Depending on how neighboring perovskite spacers are chosen, the inversion symmetry of the BBL heterostructure can be either conserved or broken, leading to the quantum spin Hall (QSH) and quantum valley Hall (QVH) phases, respectively. BBL sandwiched by ferroelectric compounds enables switching of the QSH and QVH phases and generates the topological domain boundary. Given the abundant order parameters of the sandwiching oxides, the BBL can serve as versatile topological building blocks in oxide heterostructures.

  9. Temperature-triggered chemical switching growth of in-plane and vertically stacked graphene-boron nitride heterostructures

    PubMed Central

    Gao, Teng; Song, Xiuju; Du, Huiwen; Nie, Yufeng; Chen, Yubin; Ji, Qingqing; Sun, Jingyu; Yang, Yanlian; Zhang, Yanfeng; Liu, Zhongfan

    2015-01-01

    In-plane and vertically stacked heterostructures of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN-G and G/h-BN, respectively) are both recent focuses of graphene research. However, targeted synthesis of either heterostructure remains a challenge. Here, via chemical vapour deposition and using benzoic acid precursor, we have achieved the selective growth of h-BN-G and G/h-BN through a temperature-triggered switching reaction. The perfect in-plane h-BN-G is characterized by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), showing atomically patched graphene and h-BN with typical zigzag edges. In contrast, the vertical alignment of G/h-BN is confirmed by unique lattice-mismatch-induced moiré patterns in high-resolution STM images, and two sets of aligned selected area electron diffraction spots, both suggesting a van der Waals epitaxial mechanism. The present work demonstrates the chemical designability of growth process for controlled synthesis of graphene and h-BN heterostructures. With practical scalability, high uniformity and quality, our approach will promote the development of graphene-based electronics and optoelectronics. PMID:25869236

  10. Photoresponse of a Bilayer Graphene p-n Junction Using a Combination of Electrostatic and Electrolytic Gating

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grover, Sameer; Joshi, Anupama; Tulapurkar, Ashwin; Deshmukh, Mandar

    Electrolyic gating can induce large carrier densities in graphene and other 2D-materials. We demonstrate a technique for the formation of p-n junctions in graphene using a combination of electrostatic and electrolytic gating. This was done by patterning the negative resist hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) to cover part of a bilayer graphene flake. We performed electrical and photoresponse measurements with the ionic liquid EMI-Im as the top gate and with a silicon back gate. The device characteristics were measured both at room temperature, where the ions are mobile, and at low temperatures, where the ionic liquid is frozen. We created p-n junctions that work at both room temperature and at low temperatures below the freezing point of the ionic liquid. This technique is suited for studying the photoresponse of graphene p-n junctions because of the larger transparency of ionic liquids compared to metallic gates as used in previous studies. We found that the photoresponse is dominated by the photo-thermoelectric effect, characterized by a six fold pattern in the photovoltage. The photovoltage increases as the temperature decreases which is indicative of hot electron thermalization by disorder assisted supercollisions. DST, DAE, Government of India.

  11. Self-assembly of bimetallic AuxPd1-x alloy nanoparticles via dewetting of bilayers through the systematic control of temperature, thickness, composition and stacking sequence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kunwar, Sundar; Pandey, Puran; Sui, Mao; Bastola, Sushil; Lee, Jihoon

    2018-03-01

    Bimetallic alloy nanoparticles (NPs) are attractive materials for various applications with their morphology and elemental composition dependent optical, electronic, magnetic and catalytic properties. This work demonstrates the evolution of AuxPd1-x alloy nanostructures by the solid-state dewetting of sequentially deposited bilayers of Au and Pd on sapphire (0001). Various shape, size and configuration of AuxPd1‑x alloy NPs are fabricated by the systematic control of annealing temperature, deposition thickness, composition as well as stacking sequence. The evolution of alloy nanostructures is attributed to the surface diffusion, interface diffusion between bilayers, surface and interface energy minimization, Volmer-Weber growth model and equilibrium configuration. Depending upon the temperature, the surface morphologies evolve with the formation of pits, grains and voids and gradually develop into isolated semi-spherical alloy NPs by the expansion of voids and agglomeration of Au and Pd adatoms. On the other hand, small isolated to enlarged elongated and over-grown layer-like alloy nanostructures are fabricated due to the coalescence, partial diffusion and inter-diffusion with the increased bilayer thickness. In addition, the composition and stacking sequence of bilayers remarkably affect the final geometry of AuxPd1‑x nanostructures due to the variation in the dewetting process. The optical analysis based on the UV–vis-NIR reflectance spectra reveals the surface morphology dependent plasmonic resonance, scattering, reflection and absorption properties of AuxPd1‑x alloy nanostructures.

  12. Superior lithium storage performance using sequentially stacked MnO2/reduced graphene oxide composite electrodes.

    PubMed

    Kim, Sue Jin; Yun, Young Jun; Kim, Ki Woong; Chae, Changju; Jeong, Sunho; Kang, Yongku; Choi, Si-Young; Lee, Sun Sook; Choi, Sungho

    2015-04-24

    Hybrid nanostructures based on graphene and metal oxides hold great potential for use in high-performance electrode materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Herein, a new strategy to fabricate sequentially stacked α-MnO2 /reduced graphene oxide composites driven by surface-charge-induced mutual electrostatic interactions is proposed. The resultant composite anode exhibits an excellent reversible charge/discharge capacity as high as 1100 mA h g(-1) without any traceable capacity fading, even after 100 cycles, which leads to a high rate capability electrode performance for lithium ion batteries. Thus, the proposed synthetic procedures guarantee a synergistic effect of multidimensional nanoscale media between one (metal oxide nanowire) and two dimensions (graphene sheet) for superior energy-storage electrodes. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Buckling-dependent switching behaviours in shifted bilayer germanene nanoribbons: A computational study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arjmand, T.; Tagani, M. Bagheri; Soleimani, H. Rahimpour

    2018-01-01

    Bilayer germanene nanoribbons are investigated in different stacks like buckled and flat armchair and buckled zigzag germanene nanoribbons by performing theoretical calculations using the nonequilibrium Greens function method combined with density functional theory. In these bilayer types, the current oscillates with change of interlayer distances or intra-layer overlaps and is dependent on the type of the bilayer. Band gap of AA-stacked of shifted flat bilayer armchair germanene nanoribbon oscillates by change of interlayer distance which is in contrast to buckled bilayer armchair germanene nanoribbon. So, results show the buckling makes system tend to be a semiconductor with wide band gap. Therefore, AA-stacked of shifted flat bilayer armchair germanene nanoribbon has properties between zigzag and armchair edges, the higher current under bias voltages similar to zigzag edge and also oscillations in current like buckled armchair edges. Also, it is found that HOMO-LUMO band gap strongly affects oscillation in currents and their I-V characteristic. This kind of junction improves the switching properties at low voltages around the band gap.

  14. Face-on stacking and enhanced out-of-plane hole mobility in graphene-templated copper phthalocyanine.

    PubMed

    Mativetsky, Jeffrey M; Wang, He; Lee, Stephanie S; Whittaker-Brooks, Luisa; Loo, Yueh-Lin

    2014-05-25

    Efficient out-of-plane charge transport is required in vertical device architectures, such as organic solar cells and organic light emitting diodes. Here, we show that graphene, transferred onto different technologically-relevant substrates, can be used to induce face-on molecular stacking and improve out-of-plane hole transport in copper phthalocyanine thin films.

  15. Combined molecular and periodic DFT analysis of the adsorption of co macrocycles on graphene.

    PubMed

    Calborean, Adrian; Morari, Cristian; Maldivi, Pascale

    2018-01-15

    The molecular doping of graphene with π-stacked conjugated molecules has been widely studied during the last 10 years, both experimentally or using first-principle calculations, mainly with strongly acceptor or donor molecules. Macrocyclic metal complexes have been far less studied and their behavior on graphene is less clear-cut. The present density functional theory study of cobalt porphyrin and phthalocyanine adsorbed on monolayer or bilayer graphene allows to compare the outcomes of two models, either a finite-sized flake of graphene or an infinite 2D material using periodic calculations. The electronic structures yielded by both models are compared, with a focus on the density of states around the Fermi level. Apart from the crucial choice of calculation conditions, this investigation also shows that unlike strongly donating or accepting organic dopants, these macrocycles do not induce a significant doping of the graphene sheet and that a finite size model of graphene flake may be confidently used for most modeling purposes. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Orbital-dependent Electron-Hole Interaction in Graphene and Associated Multi-Layer Structures

    PubMed Central

    Deng, Tianqi; Su, Haibin

    2015-01-01

    We develop an orbital-dependent potential to describe electron-hole interaction in materials with structural 2D character, i.e. quasi-2D materials. The modulated orbital-dependent potentials are also constructed with non-local screening, multi-layer screening, and finite gap due to the coupling with substrates. We apply the excitonic Hamiltonian in coordinate-space with developed effective electron-hole interacting potentials to compute excitons’ binding strength at M (π band) and Γ (σ band) points in graphene and its associated multi-layer forms. The orbital-dependent potential provides a range-separated property for regulating both long- and short-range interactions. This accounts for the existence of the resonant π exciton in single- and bi-layer graphenes. The remarkable strong electron-hole interaction in σ orbitals plays a decisive role in the existence of σ exciton in graphene stack at room temperature. The interplay between gap-opening and screening from substrates shed a light on the weak dependence of σ exciton binding energy on the thickness of graphene stacks. Moreover, the analysis of non-hydrogenic exciton spectrum in quasi-2D systems clearly demonstrates the remarkable comparable contribution of orbital dependent potential with respect to non-local screening process. The understanding of orbital-dependent potential developed in this work is potentially applicable for a wide range of materials with low dimension. PMID:26610715

  17. Noncovalent Interactions between Dopamine and Regular and Defective Graphene.

    PubMed

    Fernández, Ana C Rossi; Castellani, Norberto J

    2017-08-05

    The role of noncovalent interactions in the adsorption of biological molecules on graphene is a subject of fundamental interest regarding the use of graphene as a material for sensing and drug delivery. The adsorption of dopamine on regular graphene and graphene with monovacancies (GV) is theoretically studied within the framework of density functional theory. Several adsorption modes are considered, and notably those in which the dopamine molecule is oriented parallel or quasi-parallel to the surface are the more stable. The adsorption of dopamine on graphene implies an attractive interaction of a dispersive nature that competes with Pauli repulsion between the occupied π orbitals of the dopamine ring and the π orbitals of graphene. If dopamine adsorbs at the monovacancy in the A-B stacking mode, a hydrogen bond is produced between one of the dopamine hydroxy groups and one carbon atom around the vacancy. The electronic charge redistribution due to adsorption is consistent with an electronic drift from the graphene or GV surface to the dopamine molecule. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Investigations for Thermal and Electrical Conductivity of ABS-Graphene Blended Prototypes

    PubMed Central

    Singh, Rupinder; Sandhu, Gurleen S.; Penna, Rosa; Farina, Ilenia

    2017-01-01

    The thermoplastic materials such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and Nylon have large applications in three-dimensional printing of functional/non-functional prototypes. Usually these polymer-based prototypes are lacking in thermal and electrical conductivity. Graphene (Gr) has attracted impressive enthusiasm in the recent past due to its natural mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. This paper presents the step by step procedure (as a case study) for development of an in-house ABS-Gr blended composite feedstock filament for fused deposition modelling (FDM) applications. The feedstock filament has been prepared by two different methods (mechanical and chemical mixing). For mechanical mixing, a twin screw extrusion (TSE) process has been used, and for chemical mixing, the composite of Gr in an ABS matrix has been set by chemical dissolution, followed by mechanical blending through TSE. Finally, the electrical and thermal conductivity of functional prototypes prepared from composite feedstock filaments have been optimized. PMID:28773244

  19. Ab-initio adsorption study of chitosan on functionalized graphene: critical role of van der Waals interactions.

    PubMed

    Rahman, R; Mazumdar, D

    2012-03-01

    We investigate the adsorption process of an organic biomolecule (chitosan) on epoxy-functionalized graphene using ab-initio density functional methods incorporating van-der-waals (vdW) interactions. The role of London dispersion force on the cohesive energy and conformal preference of the molecule is quantitatively elucidated. Functionalizing graphene with epoxy leads to weak hydrogen-bond interactions with chitosan. Binding energy values increase by over an order of magnitude after including vdW corrections, implying that dispersive interactions dominate the physisorption process. Conformal study show binding upto 30 kcal/mol when the molecule is oriented with the hydroxyl group approaching the functionalized graphene. Our study advances the promise of functionalized graphene for a variety of applications.

  20. ZnO Nanoparticles/Reduced Graphene Oxide Bilayer Thin Films for Improved NH3-Sensing Performances at Room Temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tai, Huiling; Yuan, Zhen; Zheng, Weijian; Ye, Zongbiao; Liu, Chunhua; Du, Xiaosong

    2016-03-01

    ZnO nanoparticles and graphene oxide (GO) thin film were deposited on gold interdigital electrodes (IDEs) in sequence via simple spraying process, which was further restored to ZnO/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) bilayer thin film by the thermal reduction treatment and employed for ammonia (NH3) detection at room temperature. rGO was identified by UV-vis absorption spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS) analyses, and the adhesion between ZnO nanoparticles and rGO nanosheets might also be formed. The NH3-sensing performances of pure rGO film and ZnO/rGO bilayer films with different sprayed GO amounts were compared. The results showed that ZnO/rGO film sensors exhibited enhanced response properties, and the optimal GO amount of 1.5 ml was achieved. Furthermore, the optimal ZnO/rGO film sensor showed an excellent reversibility and fast response/recovery rate within the detection range of 10-50 ppm. Meanwhile, the sensor also displayed good repeatability and selectivity to NH3. However, the interference of water molecules on the prepared sensor is non-ignorable; some techniques should be researched to eliminate the effect of moisture in the further work. The remarkably enhanced NH3-sensing characteristics were speculated to be attributed to both the supporting role of ZnO nanoparticles film and accumulation heterojunction at the interface between ZnO and rGO. Thus, the proposed ZnO/rGO bilayer thin film sensor might give a promise for high-performance NH3-sensing applications.

  1. Robust Stacking-Independent Ultrafast Charge Transfer in MoS2/WS2 Bilayers.

    PubMed

    Ji, Ziheng; Hong, Hao; Zhang, Jin; Zhang, Qi; Huang, Wei; Cao, Ting; Qiao, Ruixi; Liu, Can; Liang, Jing; Jin, Chuanhong; Jiao, Liying; Shi, Kebin; Meng, Sheng; Liu, Kaihui

    2017-12-26

    Van der Waals-coupled two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures have attracted great attention recently due to their high potential in the next-generation photodetectors and solar cells. The understanding of charge-transfer process between adjacent atomic layers is the key to design optimal devices as it directly determines the fundamental response speed and photon-electron conversion efficiency. However, general belief and theoretical studies have shown that the charge transfer behavior depends sensitively on interlayer configurations, which is difficult to control accurately, bringing great uncertainties in device designing. Here we investigate the ultrafast dynamics of interlayer charge transfer in a prototype heterostructure, the MoS 2 /WS 2 bilayer with various stacking configurations, by optical two-color ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy. Surprisingly, we found that the charge transfer is robust against varying interlayer twist angles and interlayer coupling strength, in time scale of ∼90 fs. Our observation, together with atomic-resolved transmission electron characterization and time-dependent density functional theory simulations, reveals that the robust ultrafast charge transfer is attributed to the heterogeneous interlayer stretching/sliding, which provides additional channels for efficient charge transfer previously unknown. Our results elucidate the origin of transfer rate robustness against interlayer stacking configurations in optical devices based on 2D heterostructures, facilitating their applications in ultrafast and high-efficient optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices in the near future.

  2. Indentation of Graphene-Covered Atomic Force Microscopy Probe Across a Lipid Bilayer Membrane: Effect of Tip Shape, Size, and Surface Hydrophobicity.

    PubMed

    Lv, Kang; Li, Yinfeng

    2018-06-21

    Understanding the interaction of graphene with cell membranes is crucial to the development of graphene-based biological applications and the management of graphene safety issues. To help reveal the key factors controlling the interaction between graphene and cell membranes, here we adopt the dissipative particle dynamics method to analyze the evolution of interaction force and free energy as the graphene-covered atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe indents across a lipid bilayer. The simulation results show that the graphene-covered AFM probe can cause severe deformation of the cell membrane which drives the lipid molecule to adsorb and diffuse at the surface of graphene. The breakthrough force and free energy are calculated to study the effects of the tip shape, size, and surface hydrophobicity on the piercing behaviors of graphene-covered AFM. In addition, the deformation of cell membrane can decrease the dependency of the breakthrough force on the tip shape. The analysis of surface functionalization suggests that the horizontal patterns on graphene can change the preferred orientation in the penetration process, but the vertical patterns on graphene may disrupt the cell membrane. What's more, the bending stiffness of graphene has little influence on the penetration process as graphene pierces into the cell membrane. These results provide useful guidelines for the molecular design of graphene materials with controllable cell penetrability.

  3. Tuning ultrafast electron injection dynamics at organic-graphene/metal interfaces.

    PubMed

    Ravikumar, Abhilash; Kladnik, Gregor; Müller, Moritz; Cossaro, Albano; Bavdek, Gregor; Patera, Laerte L; Sánchez-Portal, Daniel; Venkataraman, Latha; Morgante, Alberto; Brivio, Gian Paolo; Cvetko, Dean; Fratesi, Guido

    2018-05-03

    We compare the ultrafast charge transfer dynamics of molecules on epitaxial graphene and bilayer graphene grown on Ni(111) interfaces through first principles calculations and X-ray resonant photoemission spectroscopy. We use 4,4'-bipyridine as a prototypical molecule for these explorations as the energy level alignment of core-excited molecular orbitals allows ultrafast injection of electrons from a substrate to a molecule on a femtosecond timescale. We show that the ultrafast injection of electrons from the substrate to the molecule is ∼4 times slower on weakly coupled bilayer graphene than on epitaxial graphene. Through our experiments and calculations, we can attribute this to a difference in the density of states close to the Fermi level between graphene and bilayer graphene. We therefore show how graphene coupling with the substrate influences charge transfer dynamics between organic molecules and graphene interfaces.

  4. Modification of thermal and electronic properties of bilayer graphene by using slow Na+ ions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ryu, Mintae; Lee, Paengro; Kim, Jingul; Park, Heemin; Chung, Jinwook

    2016-12-01

    Bilayer graphene (BLG) has an extensive list of industrial applications in graphene-based nanodevices such as energy storage devices, flexible displays, and thermoelectric devices. By doping slow Na+ ions on Li-intercalated BLG, we find significantly improved thermal and electronic properties of BLG by using angle-resolved photoemission and high-resolution core level spectroscopy (HRCLS) with synchrotron photons. Our HRCLS data reveal that the adsorbed Na+ ions on a BLG produced by Li-intercalation through single layer graphene (SLG) spontaneously intercalate below the BLG, and substitute Li atoms to form Na-Si bonds at the SiC interface while preserving the same phase of BLG. This is in sharp contrast with no intercalation of Na+ ions on SLG though neutral Na atoms intercalate. The Na+-induced BLG is found to be stable upon heating up to T = 400 °C, but returns to SLG when heated at T d = 500 °C. The evolution of the π-bands upon doping the Na+ ions followed by thermal annealing shows that the carrier concentration of the π-band may be artificially controlled without damaging the Dirac nature of the π-electrons. The doubled desorption temperature from that (T d = 250 °C) of the Na-intercalated SLG together with the electronic stability of the Na+-intercalated BLG may find more practical and effective applications in advancing graphene-based thermoelectric devices and anode materials for rechargeable batteries.

  5. Diastase induced green synthesis of bilayered reduced graphene oxide and its decoration with gold nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Maddinedi, Sireesh Babu; Mandal, Badal Kumar; Patil, Sagar Hindurao; Andhalkar, Vaibhav Vilas; Ranjan, Shivendu; Dasgupta, Nandita

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we report an enzyme dependent, green one-pot deoxygenation cum decoration method to synthesize diastase-conjugated reduced graphene oxide (DRG) nanosheets, DRG/gold nanoparticles (DRG/Au) composite. The DRG synthesis was completed in 7h under heating at 90°C on water bath. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM) study has revealed the formation of bilayered reduced graphene oxide sheets. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of DRG/Au composite have shown the uniform decoration of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) onto the DRG nanosheet surface. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman results additionally have shown the functionalization of enzyme molecules onto the DRG nanosheet surface after reduction making it as an effective platform towards the efficient binding of gold nanoparticles. In vitro cytotoxicity studies by MTT assay on A549 and HCT116 cell lines exhibited that the cytotoxicity of the prepared graphene oxide (GO), DRG and DRG/Au is dose dependant. These results have shown that this synthetic method is effective for the production of large scale graphene in a low cost, simple and green method. Since this process avoids the use of hazardous and toxic substances, the produced DRG/Au composites are likely to offer various potential applications in biology and medicine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Highly Conductive Multifunctional Graphene Polycarbonate Nanocomposites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yoonessi, Mitra; Gaier, James R.

    2010-01-01

    Graphene nanosheet bisphenol A polycarbonate nanocomposites (0.027 2.2 vol %) prepared by both emulsion mixing and solution blending methods, followed by compression molding at 287 C, exhibited dc electrical percolation threshold of approx.0.14 and approx.0.38 vol %, respectively. The conductivities of 2.2 vol % graphene nanocomposites were 0.512 and 0.226 S/cm for emulsion and solution mixing. The 1.1 and 2.2 vol % graphene nanocomposites exhibited frequency-independent behavior. Inherent conductivity, extremely high aspect ratio, and nanostructure directed assembly of the graphene using PC nanospheres are the main factors for excellent electrical properties of the nanocomposites. Dynamic tensile moduli of nanocomposites increased with increasing graphene in the nanocomposite. The glass transition temperatures were decreased with increasing graphene for the emulsion series. High-resolution electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) showed isolated graphene with no connectivity path for insulating nanocomposites and connected nanoparticles for the conductive nanocomposites. A stacked disk model was used to obtain the average particle radius, average number of graphene layers per stack, and stack spacing by simulation of the experimental SANS data. Morphology studies indicated the presence of well-dispersed graphene and small graphene stacking with infusion of polycarbonate within the stacks.

  7. Elastic effects on vibration of bilayer graphene sheets incorporating integrated VdWs interactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kamali, Kamran; Nazemnezhad, Reza; Zare, Mojtaba

    2018-03-01

    The following study addresses the free vibration analysis of a bilayer graphene sheet (BLGS) embedded in an elastic medium in the presence of shear and tensile-compressive effects of van der Waals (vdWs) interactions. To ascertain the contribution of each force, the effects are considered separately and simultaneously. To model the geometry of the BLGS, the sandwich plate theory and the Hamilton’s principle are considered to derive the governing equations of motion. The Harmonic differential quadrature method is applied to solve the coupled equations and obtain the natural frequencies and related mode shapes. The results reveal that the contribution of tensile-compressive modulus of elastic medium is the most in changing the frequency of BLGSs.

  8. Raman imaging of lipid bilayer membrane by surface enhanced Raman scattering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mori, Motoaki; Abe, Shunsuke; Kondo, Takahiro; Saito, Yuika

    2018-04-01

    We investigated two-dimensional lipid bilayers by spectroscopic imaging with surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). A DSPC lipid bilayer incubated on a glass substrate was coated with a thin layer of silver. Due to the strong electromagnetic enhancement of the silver film and the affinity to lipid molecules, the Raman spectrum of a single bilayer was obtained in a 1 s exposure time with 0.1 mW of incident laser power. In the C-H vibrational region of the spectra, which is sensitive to bilayer configurations, a randomly stacked area was dominated by the CH3 asymmetric-stretch mode, whereas flat areas including double bilayers showed typical SERS spectra. The spectral features of the randomly stacked area are explained by the existence of many free lipid molecules, which is supported by DFT calculations of paired DSPC molecules. Our method can be applied to reveal the local crystallinity of single lipid bilayers, which is difficult to assess by conventional Raman imaging.

  9. A grand canonical Monte Carlo study of SO2 capture using functionalized bilayer graphene nanoribbons.

    PubMed

    Maurya, Manish; Singh, Jayant K

    2017-01-28

    Grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation is used to study the adsorption of pure SO 2 using a functionalized bilayer graphene nanoribbon (GNR) at 303 K. The functional groups considered in this work are OH, COOH, NH 2 , NO 2 , and CH 3 . The mole percent of functionalization considered in this work is in the range of 3.125%-6.25%. GCMC simulation is further used to study the selective adsorption of SO 2 from binary and ternary mixtures of SO 2 , CO 2 , and N 2 , of variable composition using the functionalized bilayer graphene nanoribbon at 303 K. This study shows that the adsorption and selectivity of SO 2 increase after the functionalization of the nanoribbon compared to the hydrogen terminated nanoribbon. The order of adsorption capacity and selectivity of the functionalized nanoribbon is found to follow the order COOH > NO 2 > NH 2 > CH 3 > OH > H. The selectivity of SO 2 is found to be maximum at a pressure less than 0.2 bar. Furthermore, SO 2 selectivity and adsorption capacity decrease with increase in the molar ratio of SO 2 /N 2 mixture from 1:1 to 1:9. In the case of ternary mixture of SO 2 , CO 2 , N 2 , having compositions of 0.05, 0.15, 0.8, the selectivity of SO 2 over N 2 is higher than that of CO 2 over N 2 . The maximum selectivity of SO 2 over CO 2 is observed for the COOH functionalized GNR followed by NO 2 and other functionalized GNRs.

  10. Enhancement of mechanical and electrical properties of continuous-fiber-reinforced epoxy composites with stacked graphene.

    PubMed

    Naveh, Naum; Shepelev, Olga; Kenig, Samuel

    2017-01-01

    Impregnation of expandable graphite (EG) after thermal treatment with an epoxy resin containing surface-active agents (SAAs) enhanced the intercalation of epoxy monomer between EG layers and led to further exfoliation of the graphite, resulting in stacks of few graphene layers, so-called "stacked" graphene (SG). This process enabled electrical conductivity of cured epoxy/SG composites at lower percolation thresholds, and improved thermo-mechanical properties were measured with either Kevlar, carbon or glass-fiber-reinforced composites. Several compositions with SAA-modified SG led to higher dynamic moduli especially at high temperatures, reflecting the better wetting ability of the modified nanoparticles. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic nature of the SAA dictates the surface energy balance. More hydrophilic SAAs promoted localization of the SG at the Kevlar/epoxy interface, and morphology seems to be driven by thermodynamics, rather than the kinetic effect of viscosity. This effect was less obvious with carbon or glass fibers, due to the lower surface energy of the carbon fibers or some incompatibility with the glass-fiber sizing. Proper choice of the surfactant and fine-tuning of the crosslink density at the interphase may provide further enhancements in thermo-mechanical behavior.

  11. A hybrid MBE-based growth method for large-area synthesis of stacked hexagonal boron nitride/graphene heterostructures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wofford, Joseph M.; Nakhaie, Siamak; Krause, Thilo; Liu, Xianjie; Ramsteiner, Manfred; Hanke, Michael; Riechert, Henning; J. Lopes, J. Marcelo

    2017-02-01

    Van der Waals heterostructures combining hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and graphene offer many potential advantages, but remain difficult to produce as continuous films over large areas. In particular, the growth of h-BN on graphene has proven to be challenging due to the inertness of the graphene surface. Here we exploit a scalable molecular beam epitaxy based method to allow both the h-BN and graphene to form in a stacked heterostructure in the favorable growth environment provided by a Ni(111) substrate. This involves first saturating a Ni film on MgO(111) with C, growing h-BN on the exposed metal surface, and precipitating the C back to the h-BN/Ni interface to form graphene. The resulting laterally continuous heterostructure is composed of a top layer of few-layer thick h-BN on an intermediate few-layer thick graphene, lying on top of Ni/MgO(111). Examinations by synchrotron-based grazing incidence diffraction, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and UV-Raman spectroscopy reveal that while the h-BN is relaxed, the lattice constant of graphene is significantly reduced, likely due to nitrogen doping. These results illustrate a different pathway for the production of h-BN/graphene heterostructures, and open a new perspective for the large-area preparation of heterosystems combining graphene and other 2D or 3D materials.

  12. Two-Dimensional Graphene-Gold Interfaces Serve as Robust Templates for Dielectric Capacitors.

    PubMed

    Teshome, Tamiru; Datta, Ayan

    2017-10-04

    The electronic structures of novel heterostructures, namely, graphene-Au van der Waals (vdW) interfaces, have been studied using density functional theory. Dispersion-corrected PBE-D2 functionals are used to describe the phonon spectrum and binding energies. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the vdW framework is preserved till 1200 K. Beyond T = 1200 K, a transition of the quasiplanar Au into the three-dimensional cluster-like structure is observed. A dielectric capacitor is designed by placing 1-4 hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayers between graphene and Au conductive plates. Charge separation between the Au and graphene plates is carried out under the effect of an external field normal to the graphene-h-BN-Au interface. The gravimetric capacitances are computed as C 1 = 7.6 μF/g and C 2 = 3.2 μF/g for h-BN bilayers with the Au-graphene heterostructures. The capacitive behavior shows strong deviations from the classical charging models and exemplifies the importance of quantum phenomenon at short contacts, which eventually nullifies at large interelectrode distances. The graphene-Au interface is predicted to be an exciting vdW heterostructure with a potential application as a dielectric capacitor.

  13. Effects of boron-nitride substrates on Stone-Wales defect formation in graphene: An ab initio molecular dynamics study

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jin, K.; Xiao, H. Y.; Zhang, Y.

    2014-05-19

    Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the effects of a boron nitride (BN) substrate on Stone-Wales (SW) defect formation and recovery in graphene. It is found that SW defects can be created by an off-plane recoil atom that interacts with the BN substrate. A mechanism with complete bond breakage for formation of SW defects in suspended graphene is also revealed for recoils at large displacement angles. In addition, further irradiation can result in recovery of the SW defects through a bond rotation mechanism in both graphene and graphene/BN, and the substrate has little effect on the recoverymore » process. This study indicates that the BN substrate enhances the irradiation resistance of graphene.« less

  14. Structural and electronic properties of multilayer graphene on monolayer hexagonal boron nitride/nickel (111) interface system: A van der Waals density functional study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yelgel, Celal

    2016-02-01

    The structural and electronic properties of multilayer graphene adsorbed on monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)/Ni(111) interface system are investigated using the density functional theory with a recently developed non-local van der Waals density functional (rvv10). The most energetically favourable configuration for a monolayer h-BN/Ni(111) interface is found to be N atom atop the Ni atoms and B atom in fcc site with the interlayer distance of 2.04 Å and adsorption energy of 302 meV/BN. Our results show that increasing graphene layers on a monolayer h-BN/Ni(111) interface leads to a weakening of the interfacial interaction between the monolayer h-BN and Ni(111) surface. The adsorption energy of graphene layers on the h-BN/Ni(111) interface is found to be in the range of the 50-120 meV/C atom as the vertical distance from h-BN to the bottommost graphene layers decreases. With the adsorption of a multilayer graphene on the monolayer h-BN/Ni(111) interface system, the band gap of 0.12 eV and 0.25 eV opening in monolayer graphene and bilayer graphene near the K point is found with an upward shifting of the Fermi level. However, a stacking-sensitive band gap is opened in trilayer graphene. We obtain the band gap of 0.35 eV close to the K point with forming a Mexican hat band structure for ABC-stacked trilayer graphene.

  15. Determining the Gaussian Modulus and Edge Properties of 2D Materials: From Graphene to Lipid Bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zelisko, Matthew; Ahmadpoor, Fatemeh; Gao, Huajian; Sharma, Pradeep

    2017-08-01

    The dominant deformation behavior of two-dimensional materials (bending) is primarily governed by just two parameters: bending rigidity and the Gaussian modulus. These properties also set the energy scale for various important physical and biological processes such as pore formation, cell fission and generally, any event accompanied by a topological change. Unlike the bending rigidity, the Gaussian modulus is, however, notoriously difficult to evaluate via either experiments or atomistic simulations. In this Letter, recognizing that the Gaussian modulus and edge tension play a nontrivial role in the fluctuations of a 2D material edge, we derive closed-form expressions for edge fluctuations. Combined with atomistic simulations, we use the developed approach to extract the Gaussian modulus and edge tension at finite temperatures for both graphene and various types of lipid bilayers. Our results possibly provide the first reliable estimate of this elusive property at finite temperatures and appear to suggest that earlier estimates must be revised. In particular, we show that, if previously estimated properties are employed, the graphene-free edge will exhibit unstable behavior at room temperature. Remarkably, in the case of graphene, we show that the Gaussian modulus and edge tension even change sign at finite temperatures.

  16. Multicomponent Electron-Hole Superfluidity and the BCS-BEC Crossover in Double Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Conti, S.; Perali, A.; Peeters, F. M.; Neilson, D.

    2017-12-01

    Superfluidity in coupled electron-hole sheets of bilayer graphene is predicted here to be multicomponent because of the conduction and valence bands. We investigate the superfluid crossover properties as functions of the tunable carrier densities and the tunable energy band gap Eg. For small band gaps there is a significant boost in the two superfluid gaps, but the interaction-driven excitations from the valence to the conduction band can weaken the superfluidity, even blocking the system from entering the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) regime at low densities. At a given larger density, a band gap Eg˜80 - 120 meV can carry the system into the strong-pairing multiband BCS-BEC crossover regime, the optimal range for realization of high-Tc superfluidity.

  17. Modulating the electronic and magnetic properties of bilayer borophene via transition metal atoms intercalation: from metal to half metal and semiconductor.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xiuyun; Sun, Yi; Ma, Liang; Zhao, Xinli; Yao, Xiaojing

    2018-07-27

    Borophene, a two-dimensional monolayer made of boron atoms, has attracted wide attention due to its appealing properties. Great efforts have been devoted to fine tuning its electronic and magnetic properties for desired applications. Herein, we theoretically investigate the versatile electronic and magnetic properties of bilayer borophene (BLB) intercalated by 3d transition metal (TM) atoms, TM@BLBs (TM = Ti-Fe), using ab initio calculations. Four allotropes of AA-stacking (α 1 -, β-, β 12 - and χ 3 -) BLBs with different intercalation concentrations of TM atoms are considered. Our results show that the TM atoms are strongly bonded to the borophene layers with fairly large binding energies, around 6.31 ∼ 15.44 eV per TM atom. The BLBs with Cr and Mn intercalation have robust ferromagnetism, while for the systems decorated with Fe atoms, fruitful magnetic properties, such as nonmagnetic, ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic, are identified. In particular, the α 1 - and β-BLBs intercalated by Mn or Fe atom can be transformed into a semiconductor, half metal or graphene-like semimetal. Moreover, some heavily doped TM@BLBs expose high Curie temperatures above room temperature. The attractive properties of TM@BLBs entail an efficient way to modulate the electronic and magnetic properties of borophene sheets for advanced applications.

  18. Modulating the electronic and magnetic properties of bilayer borophene via transition metal atoms intercalation: from metal to half metal and semiconductor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xiuyun; Sun, Yi; Ma, Liang; Zhao, Xinli; Yao, Xiaojing

    2018-07-01

    Borophene, a two-dimensional monolayer made of boron atoms, has attracted wide attention due to its appealing properties. Great efforts have been devoted to fine tuning its electronic and magnetic properties for desired applications. Herein, we theoretically investigate the versatile electronic and magnetic properties of bilayer borophene (BLB) intercalated by 3d transition metal (TM) atoms, TM@BLBs (TM = Ti-Fe), using ab initio calculations. Four allotropes of AA-stacking (α 1-, β-, β 12- and χ 3-) BLBs with different intercalation concentrations of TM atoms are considered. Our results show that the TM atoms are strongly bonded to the borophene layers with fairly large binding energies, around 6.31 ∼ 15.44 eV per TM atom. The BLBs with Cr and Mn intercalation have robust ferromagnetism, while for the systems decorated with Fe atoms, fruitful magnetic properties, such as nonmagnetic, ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic, are identified. In particular, the α 1- and β-BLBs intercalated by Mn or Fe atom can be transformed into a semiconductor, half metal or graphene-like semimetal. Moreover, some heavily doped TM@BLBs expose high Curie temperatures above room temperature. The attractive properties of TM@BLBs entail an efficient way to modulate the electronic and magnetic properties of borophene sheets for advanced applications.

  19. Coherent Interlayer Tunneling and Negative Differential Resistance with High Current Density in Double Bilayer Graphene-WSe2 Heterostructures.

    PubMed

    Burg, G William; Prasad, Nitin; Fallahazad, Babak; Valsaraj, Amithraj; Kim, Kyounghwan; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Wang, Qingxiao; Kim, Moon J; Register, Leonard F; Tutuc, Emanuel

    2017-06-14

    We demonstrate gate-tunable resonant tunneling and negative differential resistance between two rotationally aligned bilayer graphene sheets separated by bilayer WSe 2 . We observe large interlayer current densities of 2 and 2.5 μA/μm 2 and peak-to-valley ratios approaching 4 and 6 at room temperature and 1.5 K, respectively, values that are comparable to epitaxially grown resonant tunneling heterostructures. An excellent agreement between theoretical calculations using a Lorentzian spectral function for the two-dimensional (2D) quasiparticle states, and the experimental data indicates that the interlayer current stems primarily from energy and in-plane momentum conserving 2D-2D tunneling, with minimal contributions from inelastic or non-momentum-conserving tunneling. We demonstrate narrow tunneling resonances with intrinsic half-widths of 4 and 6 meV at 1.5 and 300 K, respectively.

  20. Assessment of bilayer silicene to probe as quantum spin and valley Hall effect

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rehman, Majeed Ur; Qiao, Zhenhua

    2018-02-01

    Silicene takes precedence over graphene due to its buckling type structure and strong spin orbit coupling. Motivated by these properties, we study the silicene bilayer in the presence of applied perpendicular electric field and intrinsic spin orbit coupling to probe as quantum spin/valley Hall effect. Using analytical approach, we calculate the spin Chern-number of bilayer silicene and then compare it with monolayer silicene. We reveal that bilayer silicene hosts double spin Chern-number as compared to single layer silicene and therefore accordingly has twice as many edge states in contrast to single layer silicene. In addition, we investigate the combined effect of intrinsic spin orbit coupling and the external electric field, we find that bilayer silicene, likewise single layer silicene, goes through a phase transitions from a quantum spin Hall state to a quantum valley Hall state when the strength of the applied electric field exceeds the intrinsic spin orbit coupling strength. We believe that the results and outcomes obtained for bilayer silicene are experimentally more accessible as compared to bilayer graphene, because of strong SO coupling in bilayer silicene.

  1. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Woo, Sung Oh; Teizer, Winfried; WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai

    We report a deterioration of the electrical transport properties of a graphene field effect transistor due to energetic electron irradiation on a stack of Poly Methyl Methacrylate (PMMA) on graphene (PMMA/graphene bilayer). Prior to electron irradiation, we observed that the PMMA layer on graphene does not deteriorate the carrier transport of graphene but improves its electrical properties instead. As a result of the electron irradiation on the PMMA/graphene bilayer, the Raman “D” band appears after removal of PMMA. We argue that the degradation of the transport behavior originates from the binding of hydrogen generated during the PMMA backbone secession process.

  2. Rhombohedral Multilayer Graphene: A Magneto-Raman Scattering Study.

    PubMed

    Henni, Younes; Ojeda Collado, Hector Pablo; Nogajewski, Karol; Molas, Maciej R; Usaj, Gonzalo; Balseiro, Carlos A; Orlita, Milan; Potemski, Marek; Faugeras, Clement

    2016-06-08

    Graphene layers are known to stack in two stable configurations, namely, ABA or ABC stacking, with drastically distinct electronic properties. Unlike the ABA stacking, little has been done to experimentally investigate the electronic properties of ABC graphene multilayers. Here, we report on the first magneto optical study of a large ABC domain in a graphene multilayer flake, with ABC sequences exceeding 17 graphene sheets. ABC-stacked multilayers can be fingerprinted with a characteristic electronic Raman scattering response, which persists even at room temperatures. Tracing the magnetic field evolution of the inter Landau level excitations from this domain gives strong evidence for the existence of a dispersionless electronic band near the Fermi level, characteristic of such stacking. Our findings present a simple yet powerful approach to probe ABC stacking in graphene multilayer flakes, where this highly degenerated band appears as an appealing candidate to host strongly correlated states.

  3. Electrochemical behavior of monolayer and bilayer graphene.

    PubMed

    Valota, Anna T; Kinloch, Ian A; Novoselov, Kostya S; Casiraghi, Cinzia; Eckmann, Axel; Hill, Ernie W; Dryfe, Robert A W

    2011-11-22

    Results of a study on the electrochemical properties of exfoliated single and multilayer graphene flakes are presented. Graphene flakes were deposited on silicon/silicon oxide wafers to enable fast and accurate characterization by optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Conductive silver paint and silver wires were used to fabricate contacts; epoxy resin was employed as a masking coating in order to expose a stable, well-defined area of graphene. Both multilayer and monolayer graphene microelectrodes showed quasi-reversible behavior during voltammetric measurements in potassium ferricyanide. However, the standard heterogeneous charge transfer rate constant, k°, was estimated to be higher for monolayer graphene flakes. © 2011 American Chemical Society

  4. Material characteristics and equivalent circuit models of stacked graphene oxide for capacitive humidity sensors

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Han, Kook In; Lee, In Gyu; Hwang, Wan Sik, E-mail: mhshin@kau.ac.kr, E-mail: whwang@kau.ac.kr

    The oxidation properties of graphene oxide (GO) are systematically correlated with their chemical sensing properties. Based on an impedance analysis, the equivalent circuit models of the capacitive sensors are established, and it is demonstrated that capacitive operations are related to the degree of oxidation. This is also confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis. Finally, highly sensitive stacked GO sensors are shown to detect humidity in capacitive mode, which can be useful in various applications requiring low power consumption.

  5. Charging the quantum capacitance of graphene with a single biological ion channel.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yung Yu; Pham, Ted D; Zand, Katayoun; Li, Jinfeng; Burke, Peter J

    2014-05-27

    The interaction of cell and organelle membranes (lipid bilayers) with nanoelectronics can enable new technologies to sense and measure electrophysiology in qualitatively new ways. To date, a variety of sensing devices have been demonstrated to measure membrane currents through macroscopic numbers of ion channels. However, nanoelectronic based sensing of single ion channel currents has been a challenge. Here, we report graphene-based field-effect transistors combined with supported lipid bilayers as a platform for measuring, for the first time, individual ion channel activity. We show that the supported lipid bilayers uniformly coat the single layer graphene surface, acting as a biomimetic barrier that insulates (both electrically and chemically) the graphene from the electrolyte environment. Upon introduction of pore-forming membrane proteins such as alamethicin and gramicidin A, current pulses are observed through the lipid bilayers from the graphene to the electrolyte, which charge the quantum capacitance of the graphene. This approach combines nanotechnology with electrophysiology to demonstrate qualitatively new ways of measuring ion channel currents.

  6. Charging the Quantum Capacitance of Graphene with a Single Biological Ion Channel

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    The interaction of cell and organelle membranes (lipid bilayers) with nanoelectronics can enable new technologies to sense and measure electrophysiology in qualitatively new ways. To date, a variety of sensing devices have been demonstrated to measure membrane currents through macroscopic numbers of ion channels. However, nanoelectronic based sensing of single ion channel currents has been a challenge. Here, we report graphene-based field-effect transistors combined with supported lipid bilayers as a platform for measuring, for the first time, individual ion channel activity. We show that the supported lipid bilayers uniformly coat the single layer graphene surface, acting as a biomimetic barrier that insulates (both electrically and chemically) the graphene from the electrolyte environment. Upon introduction of pore-forming membrane proteins such as alamethicin and gramicidin A, current pulses are observed through the lipid bilayers from the graphene to the electrolyte, which charge the quantum capacitance of the graphene. This approach combines nanotechnology with electrophysiology to demonstrate qualitatively new ways of measuring ion channel currents. PMID:24754625

  7. Graphene-Based Polymer Bilayers with Superior Light-Driven Properties for Remote Construction of 3D Structures.

    PubMed

    Tang, Zhenhua; Gao, Ziwei; Jia, Shuhai; Wang, Fei; Wang, Yonglin

    2017-05-01

    3D structure assembly in advanced functional materials is important for many areas of technology. Here, a new strategy exploits IR light-driven bilayer polymeric composites for autonomic origami assembly of 3D structures. The bilayer sheet comprises a passive layer of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and an active layer comprising reduced graphene oxides (RGOs), thermally expanding microspheres (TEMs), and PDMS. The corresponding fabrication method is versatile and simple. Owing to the large volume expansion of the TEMs, the two layers exhibit large differences in their coefficients of thermal expansion. The RGO-TEM-PDMS/PDMS bilayers can deflect toward the PDMS side upon IR irradiation via the cooperative effect of the photothermal effect of the RGOs and the expansion of the TEMs, and exhibit excellent light-driven, a large bending deformation, and rapid responsive properties. The proposed RGO-TEM-PDMS/PDMS composites with excellent light-driven bending properties are demonstrated as active hinges for building 3D geometries such as bidirectionally folded columns, boxes, pyramids, and cars. The folding angle (ranging from 0° to 180°) is well-controlled by tuning the active hinge length. Furthermore, the folded 3D architectures can permanently preserve the deformed shape without energy supply. The presented approach has potential in biomedical devices, aerospace applications, microfluidic devices, and 4D printing.

  8. Correlated insulator behaviour at half-filling in magic-angle graphene superlattices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cao, Yuan; Fatemi, Valla; Demir, Ahmet; Fang, Shiang; Tomarken, Spencer L.; Luo, Jason Y.; Sanchez-Yamagishi, Javier D.; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Kaxiras, Efthimios; Ashoori, Ray C.; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo

    2018-04-01

    A van der Waals heterostructure is a type of metamaterial that consists of vertically stacked two-dimensional building blocks held together by the van der Waals forces between the layers. This design means that the properties of van der Waals heterostructures can be engineered precisely, even more so than those of two-dimensional materials. One such property is the ‘twist’ angle between different layers in the heterostructure. This angle has a crucial role in the electronic properties of van der Waals heterostructures, but does not have a direct analogue in other types of heterostructure, such as semiconductors grown using molecular beam epitaxy. For small twist angles, the moiré pattern that is produced by the lattice misorientation between the two-dimensional layers creates long-range modulation of the stacking order. So far, studies of the effects of the twist angle in van der Waals heterostructures have concentrated mostly on heterostructures consisting of monolayer graphene on top of hexagonal boron nitride, which exhibit relatively weak interlayer interaction owing to the large bandgap in hexagonal boron nitride. Here we study a heterostructure consisting of bilayer graphene, in which the two graphene layers are twisted relative to each other by a certain angle. We show experimentally that, as predicted theoretically, when this angle is close to the ‘magic’ angle the electronic band structure near zero Fermi energy becomes flat, owing to strong interlayer coupling. These flat bands exhibit insulating states at half-filling, which are not expected in the absence of correlations between electrons. We show that these correlated states at half-filling are consistent with Mott-like insulator states, which can arise from electrons being localized in the superlattice that is induced by the moiré pattern. These properties of magic-angle-twisted bilayer graphene heterostructures suggest that these materials could be used to study other exotic many

  9. Spontaneous doping on high quality talc-graphene-hBN van der Waals heterostructures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mania, E.; Alencar, A. B.; Cadore, A. R.; Carvalho, B. R.; Watanabe, K.; Taniguchi, T.; Neves, B. R. A.; Chacham, H.; Campos, L. C.

    2017-09-01

    Steady doping, added to its remarkable electronic properties, would make graphene a valuable commodity in the solar cell market, as energy power conversion could be substantially increased. Here we report a graphene van der Waals heterostructure which is able to spontaneously dope graphene (p-type) up to n ~ 2.2  ×  1013 cm-2 while providing excellent charge mobility (μ ~ 25 000 cm2 V-1 s-1). Such properties are achieved via deposition of graphene on atomically flat layered talc, a natural and abundant dielectric crystal. Raman investigation shows a preferential charge accumulation on graphene-talc van der Waals heterostructures, which are investigated through the electronic properties of talc/graphene/hBN heterostructure devices. These heterostructures preserve graphene’s good electronic quality, verified by the observation of quantum Hall effect at low magnetic fields (B  =  0.4 T) at T  =  4.2 K. In order to investigate the physical mechanisms behind graphene-on-talc p-type doping, we performed first-principles calculations of their interface structural and electronic properties. In addition to potentially improving solar cell efficiency, graphene doping via van der Waals stacking is also a promising route towards controlling the band gap opening in bilayer graphene, promoting a steady n or p type doping in graphene and, eventually, providing a new path to access superconducting states in graphene, predicted to exist only at very high doping.

  10. The magneto-optical properties of non-uniform graphene nanoribbons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chung, Hsien-Ching; Lin, Ming-Fa

    2015-03-01

    When synthesizing few-layer graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), non-uniform GNRs would be made simultaneously. Recently, the non-uniform GNRs, which is a stack of two GNRs with unequal widths, have been fabricated by mechanically exfoliated from bulk graphite. Some theoretical predictions have been reported, such as gap opening and transport properties. Under the influence of magnetic fields, magnetic quantization takes place and drastically changes the electronic properties. By tuning the geometric configuration, four categories of magneto-electronic spectra are exhibited. (1) The spectrum is mostly contributed by quasi-Landau levels (QLLs) of monolayer GNRs. (2) The spectrum displays two groups of QLLs, and the non-uniform GNR behaves like a bilayer one. (3) An intermediate category, the spectrum is composite disordered. (4) The spectrum presents the coexistence of monolayer and bilayer spectra. In this work, the magneto-electronic and optical properties for different geometric configurations are given, such as energy dispersions, density of states, wave functions, and magneto-absorption spectra are presented. Furthermore, the transformation between monolayer and bilayer spectra as well as the coexistence of monolayer and bilayer spectra are discussed in detail. One of us (Hsien-Ching Chung) thanks Ming-Hui Chung and Su-Ming Chen for financial support. This work was supported in part by the National Science Council of Taiwan under Grant Number 98-2112-M-006-013-MY4.

  11. Thermal transport characterization of stanene/silicene heterobilayer and stanene bilayer nanostructures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Noshin, Maliha; Intisar Khan, Asir; Subrina, Samia

    2018-05-01

    Recently, stanene and silicene based nanostructures with low thermal conductivity have incited noteworthy interest due to their prospect in thermoelectrics. Aiming at the possibility of extracting lower thermal conductivity, in this study, we have proposed and modeled stanene/silicene heterobilayer nanoribbons, a new heterostructure and subsequently characterized their thermal transport by using an equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation. In addition, the thermal transport in bilayer stanene is also studied and compared. We have computed the thermal conductivity of the stanene/silicene and bilayer stanene nanostructures to characterize their thermal transport phenomena. The studied nanostructures show good thermal stability within the temperature range of 100-600 K. The room temperature thermal conductivities of pristine 10 nm × 3 nm stanene/silicene hetero-bilayer and stanene bilayer are estimated to be 3.63 ± 0.27 W m-1 K-1 and 1.31 ± 0.34 W m-1 K-1, respectively, which are smaller than that of silicene, graphene and some other 2D monolayers as well as heterobilayers such as stanene/graphene and silicene/graphene. In the temperature range of 100-600 K, the thermal conductivity of our studied bilayer nanoribbons decreases with an increase in the temperature. Furthermore, we have investigated the dependence of our estimated thermal conductivity on the size of the considered nanoribbons. The thermal conductivities of both the nanoribbons are found to increase with an increase in the width of the structure. The thermal conductivity shows a similar increasing trend with the increase in the ribbon length, as well. Our results suggest that, the low thermal conductivity of our studied bilayer structures can be further decreased by nanostructuring. The significantly low thermal conductivity of the stanene/silicene heterobilayer and stanene bilayer nanoribbons realized in our study would provide a good insight and encouragement into their appealing prospect in the

  12. Thermal transport characterization of stanene/silicene heterobilayer and stanene bilayer nanostructures.

    PubMed

    Noshin, Maliha; Khan, Asir Intisar; Subrina, Samia

    2018-05-04

    Recently, stanene and silicene based nanostructures with low thermal conductivity have incited noteworthy interest due to their prospect in thermoelectrics. Aiming at the possibility of extracting lower thermal conductivity, in this study, we have proposed and modeled stanene/silicene heterobilayer nanoribbons, a new heterostructure and subsequently characterized their thermal transport by using an equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation. In addition, the thermal transport in bilayer stanene is also studied and compared. We have computed the thermal conductivity of the stanene/silicene and bilayer stanene nanostructures to characterize their thermal transport phenomena. The studied nanostructures show good thermal stability within the temperature range of 100-600 K. The room temperature thermal conductivities of pristine 10 nm × 3 nm stanene/silicene hetero-bilayer and stanene bilayer are estimated to be 3.63 ± 0.27 W m -1 K -1 and 1.31 ± 0.34 W m -1 K -1 , respectively, which are smaller than that of silicene, graphene and some other 2D monolayers as well as heterobilayers such as stanene/graphene and silicene/graphene. In the temperature range of 100-600 K, the thermal conductivity of our studied bilayer nanoribbons decreases with an increase in the temperature. Furthermore, we have investigated the dependence of our estimated thermal conductivity on the size of the considered nanoribbons. The thermal conductivities of both the nanoribbons are found to increase with an increase in the width of the structure. The thermal conductivity shows a similar increasing trend with the increase in the ribbon length, as well. Our results suggest that, the low thermal conductivity of our studied bilayer structures can be further decreased by nanostructuring. The significantly low thermal conductivity of the stanene/silicene heterobilayer and stanene bilayer nanoribbons realized in our study would provide a good insight and encouragement into their appealing prospect

  13. Properties at the interface of graphene and Ti2C MXene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paul, Pallavi; Chakraborty, Poulami; Das, Tilak; Nafday, Dhani; Saha-Dasgupta, Tanusri

    2017-07-01

    Employing ab initio calculations, we characterize the interfaces formed between graphene, a much discussed two-dimensional material, and MXene, another two-dimensional material of recent interest. Our study considering the specific case of Ti2C , a member of the MXene family, shows the formation of chemical bonds between Ti atoms and C atoms of graphene. This results in reconstruction of the electronic structure at the interface, making the interface metallic, though graphene is a zero-gap semiconductor and Ti2C is an antiferromagnetic insulator in their respective native form. The optical and phonon properties of the interfaces are found to be strongly dependent on the stacking arrangement, driven by the nature of chemical-bond formation. Consideration of O-passivated Ti2C is found to weaken the interaction between graphene and Ti2C substantially, making it a physisorption process rather than chemisorption in the unpassivated situation. Our first-principles study is expected to motivate future experimental investigation.

  14. Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of twisted trilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zuo, Wei-Jie; Qiao, Jia-Bin; Ma, Dong-Lin; Yin, Long-Jing; Sun, Gan; Zhang, Jun-Yang; Guan, Li-Yang; He, Lin

    2018-01-01

    Twist, as a simple and unique degree of freedom, could lead to enormous novel quantum phenomena in bilayer graphene. A small rotation angle introduces low-energy van Hove singularities (VHSs) approaching the Fermi level, which result in unusual correlated states in the bilayer graphene. It is reasonable to expect that the twist could also affect the electronic properties of few-layer graphene dramatically. However, such an issue has remained experimentally elusive. Here, by using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS), we systematically studied a twisted trilayer graphene (TTG) with two different small twist angles between adjacent layers. Two sets of VHSs, originating from the two twist angles, were observed in the TTG, indicating that the TTG could be simply regarded as a combination of two different twisted bilayers of graphene. By using high-resolution STS, we observed a split of the VHSs and directly imaged the spatial symmetry breaking of electronic states around the VHSs. These results suggest that electron-electron interactions play an important role in affecting the electronic properties of graphene systems with low-energy VHSs.

  15. Narrow plasmon resonances enabled by quasi-freestanding bilayer epitaxial graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Daniels, Kevin M.; Jadidi, M. Mehdi; Sushkov, Andrei B.; Nath, Anindya; Boyd, Anthony K.; Sridhara, Karthik; Drew, H. Dennis; Murphy, Thomas E.; Myers-Ward, Rachael L.; Gaskill, D. Kurt

    2017-06-01

    Exploiting the underdeveloped terahertz range (~1012-1013 Hz) of the electromagnetic spectrum could advance many scientific fields (e.g. medical imaging for the identification of tumors and other biological tissues, non-destructive evaluation of hidden objects or ultra-broadband communication). Despite the benefits of operating in this regime, generation, detection and manipulation have proven difficult, as few materials have functional interactions with THz radiation. In contrast, graphene supports resonances in the THz regime through structural confinement of surface plasmons, which can lead to enhanced absorption. In prior work, the achievable plasmon resonances in such structures have been limited by multiple electron scattering mechanisms (i.e. large carrier scattering rates) which greatly broaden the resonance (>100 cm-1 3 THz). We report the narrowest room temperature Drude response to-date, 30 cm-1 (0.87 THz), obtained using quasi-free standing bilayer epitaxial graphene (QFS BLG) synthesized on (0 0 0 1)6H-SiC. This narrow response is due to a 4-fold increase in carrier mobility and improved thickness and electronic uniformity of QFS BLG. Moreover, QFS BLG samples patterned into microribbons targeting 1.8-5.7 THz plasmon resonances also exhibit low scattering rates (37-53 cm-1). Due to the improved THz properties of QFS BLG, the effects of e-beam processing on carrier scattering rates was determined and we found that fabrication conditions can be tuned to minimize the impact on optoelectronic properties. In addition, electrostatic gating of patterned QFS BLG shows narrow band THz amplitude modulation. Taken together, these properties of QFS BLG should facilitate future development of THz optoelectronic devices for monochromatic applications.

  16. Theory of interaction-induced renormalization of Drude weight and plasmon frequency in chiral multilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xiao; Tse, Wang-Kong

    2017-02-01

    We develop a theory for the optical conductivity of doped ABC-stacked multilayer graphene including the effects of electron-electron interactions. Applying the quantum kinetic formalism, we formulate a set of pseudospin Bloch equations that govern the dynamics of the nonequilibrium density matrix driven by an external ac electric field under the influence of Coulomb interactions. These equations reveal a dynamical mechanism that couples the Drude and interband responses arising from the chirality of pseudospin textures in multilayer graphene systems. We demonstrate that this results in an interaction-induced enhancement of the Drude weight and plasmon frequency strongly dependent on the pseudospin winding number. Using bilayer graphene as an example, we also study the influence of higher-energy bands and find that they contribute considerable renormalization effects not captured by a low-energy two-band description. We argue that this enhancement of Drude weight and plasmon frequency occurs generally in materials characterized by electronic chirality.

  17. 3-Methyl-7-(2-thienyl)pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione: pi-stacked bilayers built from N-H...O, C-H...O and C-H...pi hydrogen bonds.

    PubMed

    Trilleras, Jorge; Quiroga, Jairo; Cobo, Justo; Glidewell, Christopher

    2009-06-01

    In the title compound, C(12)H(9)N(3)O(2)S, the thienyl substituent is disordered over two sets of sites with occupancies of 0.749 (3) and 0.251 (3). A combination of N-H...O, C-H...O and C-H...pi hydrogen bonds links the molecules into bilayers and these bilayers are themselves linked into a continuous structure by pi-pi stacking interactions.

  18. Electronic Properties of Graphene-PtSe2 Contacts.

    PubMed

    Sattar, Shahid; Schwingenschlögl, Udo

    2017-05-10

    In this article, we study the electronic properties of graphene in contact with monolayer and bilayer PtSe 2 using first-principles calculations. It turns out that there is no charge transfer between the components because of the weak van der Waals interaction. We calculate the work functions of monolayer and bilayer PtSe 2 and analyze the band bending at the contact with graphene. The formation of an n-type Schottky contact with monolayer PtSe 2 and a p-type Schottky contact with bilayer PtSe 2 is demonstrated. The Schottky barrier height is very low in the bilayer case and can be reduced to zero by 0.8% biaxial tensile strain.

  19. Analytical modeling of electron energy loss spectroscopy of graphene: Ab initio study versus extended hydrodynamic model.

    PubMed

    Djordjević, Tijana; Radović, Ivan; Despoja, Vito; Lyon, Keenan; Borka, Duško; Mišković, Zoran L

    2018-01-01

    We present an analytical modeling of the electron energy loss (EEL) spectroscopy data for free-standing graphene obtained by scanning transmission electron microscope. The probability density for energy loss of fast electrons traversing graphene under normal incidence is evaluated using an optical approximation based on the conductivity of graphene given in the local, i.e., frequency-dependent form derived by both a two-dimensional, two-fluid extended hydrodynamic (eHD) model and an ab initio method. We compare the results for the real and imaginary parts of the optical conductivity in graphene obtained by these two methods. The calculated probability density is directly compared with the EEL spectra from three independent experiments and we find very good agreement, especially in the case of the eHD model. Furthermore, we point out that the subtraction of the zero-loss peak from the experimental EEL spectra has a strong influence on the analytical model for the EEL spectroscopy data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Characteristics of Raman spectra for graphene oxide from ab initio simulations.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lu; Zhao, Jijun; Sun, Yi-Yang; Zhang, Shengbai B

    2011-11-14

    The Raman spectra of several locally stable structures of the graphene oxide (GO) have been simulated by ab initio calculations. Compared to graphite, the G band of GO is broadened and blueshifted due to the emergence of a series of new Raman peaks. The Raman intensities and positions of the D and G bands depend sensitively on the local atomic configurations. In addition to the normal epoxy and hydroxyl groups, other oxidation groups such as epoxy pairs are also studied. Epoxy pairs induce large blueshift of G band with respect to that of the graphite. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

  1. Electronic Structure of ABC-stacked Multilayer Graphene and Trigonal Warping:A First Principles Calculation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yelgel, Celal

    2016-04-01

    We present an extensive density functional theory (DFT) based investigation of the electronic structures of ABC-stacked N-layer graphene. It is found that for such systems the dispersion relations of the highest valence and the lowest conduction bands near the K point in the Brillouin zone are characterised by a mixture of cubic, parabolic, and linear behaviours. When the number of graphene layers is increased to more than three, the separation between the valence and conduction bands decreases up until they touch each other. For five and six layer samples these bands show flat behaviour close to the K point. We note that all states in the vicinity of the Fermi energy are surface states originated from the top and/or bottom surface of all the systems considered. For the trilayer system, N = 3, pronounced trigonal warping of the bands slightly above the Fermi level is directly obtained from DFT calculations.

  2. Tunable zero-line modes via magnetic field in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Ke; Qiao, Zhenhua

    Zero-line modes appear in bilayer graphene at the internal boundary between two opposite vertical electrostatic confinements. These one-dimensional modes are metallic along the boundary and exhibit quantized conductance in the absence of inter-valley scattering. However, experimental results show that the conductance is around 0.5 e2/h rather than quantized. This observation can be explained from our numerical results, which suggest that the scattering between zero-line mode and bound states and the presence of atomic scale disorders that provide inter-valley scattering can effectively reduce the conductance to about 0.5 e2/h. We further find that out-of-plane magnetic field can strongly suppress these scattering mechanisms and gives rise to nearly quantized conductance. On one hand, the presence of magnetic field makes bound states become Landau levels, which reduces the scattering between zero-line mode and bound states. On the other hand, the wave function distributions of oppositely propagating zero-line modes at different valleys are spatially separated, which can strongly suppress the inter-valley scattering. Specifically speaking, the conductance can be increased to 3.2 e2/h at 8 T even when the atomic Anderson type disorders are considered.

  3. Piezoelectric substrate effect on electron-acoustic phonon scattering in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ansari, Mohd Meenhaz; Ashraf, SSZ

    2018-05-01

    We have studied the effect of piezoelectric scattering as a function of electron temperature and distance between the sample and the substrate on electron-acoustic phonon scattering rate in Bilayer Graphene sitting on a piezoelectric substrate. We obtain approximate analytical result by neglecting the chiral nature of carriers and then proceed to obtain unapproximated numerical results for the scattering rate incorporating chirality of charge carriers. We find that on the incorporation of full numerical computation the magnitude as well as the power exponent both is affected with the power exponent changed from T3 to T3.31 in the low temperature range and to T6.98 dependence in the temperature range (>5K). We also find that the distance between the sample and substrate begins to strongly affect the scattering rate at temperatures above 10K. These calculation not only suggest the influencing effect of piezoelectric substrate on the transport properties of Dirac Fermions at very low temperatures but also open a channel to study low dimension structures by probing piezoelectric acoustical phonons.

  4. Diverse Functionalities of Vertically Stacked Graphene/Single layer n-MoS2/SiO2/p-GaN Heterostructures.

    PubMed

    Perumal, Packiyaraj; Karuppiah, Chelladurai; Liao, Wei-Cheng; Liou, Yi-Rou; Liao, Yu-Ming; Chen, Yang-Fang

    2017-08-30

    Integrating different dimentional materials on vertically stacked p-n hetero-junctions have facinated a considerable scrunity and can open up excellent feasibility with various functionalities in opto-electronic devices. Here, we demonstrate that vertically stacked p-GaN/SiO 2 /n-MoS 2 /Graphene heterostructures enable to exhibit prominent dual opto-electronic characteristics, including efficient photo-detection and light emission, which represents the emergence of a new class of devices. The photoresponsivity was found to achieve as high as ~10.4 AW -1 and the detectivity and external quantum efficiency were estimated to be 1.1 × 10 10 Jones and ~30%, respectively. These values are superier than most reported hererojunction devices. In addition, this device exhibits as a self-powered photodetector, showing a high responsivity and fast response speed. Moreover, the device demonstrates the light emission with low turn-on voltage (~1.0 V) which can be realized by electron injection from graphene electrode and holes from GaN film into monolayer MoS 2 layer. These results indicate that with a suitable choice of band alignment, the vertical stacking of materials with different dimentionalities could be significant potential for integration of highly efficient heterostructures and open up feasible pathways towards integrated nanoscale multi-functional optoelectronic devices for a variety of applications.

  5. RNA nanopatterning on graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Q.; Froning, J. P.; Pykal, M.; Zhang, S.; Wang, Z.; Vondrák, M.; Banáš, P.; Čépe, K.; Jurečka, P.; Šponer, J.; Zbořil, R.; Dong, M.; Otyepka, M.

    2018-07-01

    Graphene-based materials enable the sensing of diverse biomolecules using experimental approaches based on electrochemistry, spectroscopy, or other methods. Although basic sensing was achieved, it had until now not been possible to understand and control biomolecules’ structural and morphological organization on graphene surfaces (i.e. their stacking, folding/unfolding, self-assembly, and nano-patterning). Here we present the insight into structural and morphological organization of biomolecules on graphene in water, using an RNA hairpin as a model system. We show that the key parameters governing the RNA’s behavior on the graphene surface are the number of graphene layers, RNA concentration, and temperature. At high concentrations, the RNA forms a film on the graphene surface with entrapped nanobubbles. The density and the size of the bubbles depend on the number of graphene layers. At lower concentrations, unfolded RNA stacks on the graphene and forms molecular clusters on the surface. Such a control over the conformational behavior of interacting biomolecules at graphene/water interfaces would facilitate new applications of graphene derivatives in biotechnology and biomedicine.

  6. Evaluation of Graphene/WO3 and Graphene/CeO x Structures as Electrodes for Supercapacitor Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaitoglou, Stefanos; Amade, Roger; Bertran, Enric

    2017-12-01

    The combination of graphene with transition metal oxides can result in very promising hybrid materials for use in energy storage applications thanks to its intriguing properties, i.e., highly tunable surface area, outstanding electrical conductivity, good chemical stability, and excellent mechanical behavior. In the present work, we evaluate the performance of graphene/metal oxide (WO3 and CeO x ) layered structures as potential electrodes in supercapacitor applications. Graphene layers were grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on copper substrates. Single and layer-by-layer graphene stacks were fabricated combining graphene transfer techniques and metal oxides grown by magnetron sputtering. The electrochemical properties of the samples were analyzed and the results suggest an improvement in the performance of the device with the increase in the number of graphene layers. Furthermore, deposition of transition metal oxides within the stack of graphene layers further improves the areal capacitance of the device up to 4.55 mF/cm2, for the case of a three-layer stack. Such high values are interpreted as a result of the copper oxide grown between the copper substrate and the graphene layer. The electrodes present good stability for the first 850 cycles before degradation.

  7. Topological magnetic phase in LaMnO3 (111) bilayer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weng, Yakui; Huang, Xin; Yao, Yugui; Dong, Shuai

    Candidates for correlated topological insulators, originated from the spin-orbit coupling as well as Hubbard type correlation, are expected in the (111) bilayer of perovskite-structural transition-metal oxides. Based on the first-principles calculation and tight-binding model, the electronic structure of a LaMnO3 (111) bilayer sandwiched in LaScO3 barriers has been investigated. For the ideal undistorted perovskite structure, the Fermi energy of LaMnO3 (111) bilayer just stays at the Dirac point, rendering a semi-metal (graphene-like) which is also a half-metal (different from graphene nor previous studied LaNiO3 (111) bilayer). The Dirac cone can be opened by the spin-orbit coupling, giving rise to nontrivial topological bands corresponding to the (quantized) anomalous Hall effect. For the realistic orthorhombic distorted lattice, the Dirac point moves with increasing Hubbard repulsion (or equivalent Jahn-Teller distortion). Finally, a Mott gap opens, establishing a phase boundary between the Mott insulator and topological magnetic insulator. Our calculation finds that the gap opened by spin-orbit coupling is much smaller in the orthorhombic distorted lattice (~ 1 . 7 meV) than the undistorted one (~11 meV).

  8. Structure and energetics of carbon, hexagonal boron nitride, and carbon/hexagonal boron nitride single-layer and bilayer nanoscrolls

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Siahlo, Andrei I.; Poklonski, Nikolai A.; Lebedev, Alexander V.; Lebedeva, Irina V.; Popov, Andrey M.; Vyrko, Sergey A.; Knizhnik, Andrey A.; Lozovik, Yurii E.

    2018-03-01

    Single-layer and bilayer carbon and hexagonal boron nitride nanoscrolls as well as nanoscrolls made of bilayer graphene/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructure are considered. Structures of stable states of the corresponding nanoscrolls prepared by rolling single-layer and bilayer rectangular nanoribbons are obtained based on the analytical model and numerical calculations. The lengths of nanoribbons for which stable and energetically favorable nanoscrolls are possible are determined. Barriers to rolling of single-layer and bilayer nanoribbons into nanoscrolls and barriers to nanoscroll unrolling are calculated. Based on the calculated barriers nanoscroll lifetimes in the stable state are estimated. Elastic constants for bending of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride layers used in the model are found by density functional theory calculations.

  9. Interlayer interactions in graphites.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xiaobin; Tian, Fuyang; Persson, Clas; Duan, Wenhui; Chen, Nan-xian

    2013-11-06

    Based on ab initio calculations of both the ABC- and AB-stacked graphites, interlayer potentials (i.e., graphene-graphene interaction) are obtained as a function of the interlayer spacing using a modified Möbius inversion method, and are used to calculate basic physical properties of graphite. Excellent consistency is observed between the calculated and experimental phonon dispersions of AB-stacked graphite, showing the validity of the interlayer potentials. More importantly, layer-related properties for nonideal structures (e.g., the exfoliation energy, cleave energy, stacking fault energy, surface energy, etc.) can be easily predicted from the interlayer potentials, which promise to be extremely efficient and helpful in studying van der Waals structures.

  10. Transport properties of bilayer graphene due to charged impurity scattering: Temperature-dependent screening and substrate effects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Linh, Dang Khanh; Khanh, Nguyen Quoc

    2018-03-01

    We calculate the zero-temperature conductivity of bilayer graphene (BLG) impacted by Coulomb impurity scattering using four different screening models: unscreened, Thomas-Fermi (TF), overscreened and random phase approximation (RPA). We also calculate the conductivity and thermal conductance of BLG using TF, zero- and finite-temperature RPA screening functions. We find large differences between the results of the models and show that TF and finite-temperature RPA give similar results for diffusion thermopower Sd. Using the finite-temperature RPA, we calculate temperature and density dependence of Sd in BLG on SiO2, HfO2 substrates and suspended BLG for different values of interlayer distance c and distance between the first layer and the substrate d.

  11. Direct Growth of Graphene on Silicon by Metal-Free Chemical Vapor Deposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tai, Lixuan; Zhu, Daming; Liu, Xing; Yang, Tieying; Wang, Lei; Wang, Rui; Jiang, Sheng; Chen, Zhenhua; Xu, Zhongmin; Li, Xiaolong

    2018-06-01

    The metal-free synthesis of graphene on single-crystal silicon substrates, the most common commercial semiconductor, is of paramount significance for many technological applications. In this work, we report the growth of graphene directly on an upside-down placed, single-crystal silicon substrate using metal-free, ambient-pressure chemical vapor deposition. By controlling the growth temperature, in-plane propagation, edge-propagation, and core-propagation, the process of graphene growth on silicon can be identified. This process produces atomically flat monolayer or bilayer graphene domains, concave bilayer graphene domains, and bulging few-layer graphene domains. This work would be a significant step toward the synthesis of large-area and layer-controlled, high-quality graphene on single-crystal silicon substrates. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  12. Superheating of monolayer ice in graphene nanocapillaries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, YinBo; Wang, FengChao; Wu, HengAn

    2017-04-01

    The freezing and melting of low-dimensional materials, either via a first-order phase transition or without any discontinuity in thermodynamic, still remain a matter of debate. Melting (superheating) in two-dimensional (2D) ice is fundamentally different from that in bulk counterpart. Here, we perform comprehensive molecular dynamics simulations of the superheating of monolayer ice in graphene nanocapillaries to understand the nature of melting transition in 2D water/ice. We find four different superheating (melting) scenarios can happen in the superheating of monolayer square-like ice, which are closely related to the lateral pressure and the channel width. The anomalous two-stage melting transition with arisen coexistence phase is found, which reveals the unknown extraordinary characteristics of melting in 2D water/ice. Under ultrahigh lateral pressure, the intermediate monolayer triangular amorphous ice will be formed during the superheating of monolayer square-like ice with both continuous-like and first-order phase transitions. Whereas, under low lateral pressure, the melting in monolayer square-like ice manifests typical discontinuity with notable hysteresis-loop in potential energy during the heating/cooling process. Moreover, we also find that highly puckered monolayer square-like ice can transform into bilayer AB-stacked amorphous ice with square pattern in the superheating process. The superheating behavior under high lateral pressure can be partly regarded as the compression limit of superheated monolayer water. The intrinsic phenomena in our simulated superheating of monolayer ice may be significant for understanding the melting behavior in 2D water/ice.

  13. Superheating of monolayer ice in graphene nanocapillaries.

    PubMed

    Zhu, YinBo; Wang, FengChao; Wu, HengAn

    2017-04-07

    The freezing and melting of low-dimensional materials, either via a first-order phase transition or without any discontinuity in thermodynamic, still remain a matter of debate. Melting (superheating) in two-dimensional (2D) ice is fundamentally different from that in bulk counterpart. Here, we perform comprehensive molecular dynamics simulations of the superheating of monolayer ice in graphene nanocapillaries to understand the nature of melting transition in 2D water/ice. We find four different superheating (melting) scenarios can happen in the superheating of monolayer square-like ice, which are closely related to the lateral pressure and the channel width. The anomalous two-stage melting transition with arisen coexistence phase is found, which reveals the unknown extraordinary characteristics of melting in 2D water/ice. Under ultrahigh lateral pressure, the intermediate monolayer triangular amorphous ice will be formed during the superheating of monolayer square-like ice with both continuous-like and first-order phase transitions. Whereas, under low lateral pressure, the melting in monolayer square-like ice manifests typical discontinuity with notable hysteresis-loop in potential energy during the heating/cooling process. Moreover, we also find that highly puckered monolayer square-like ice can transform into bilayer AB-stacked amorphous ice with square pattern in the superheating process. The superheating behavior under high lateral pressure can be partly regarded as the compression limit of superheated monolayer water. The intrinsic phenomena in our simulated superheating of monolayer ice may be significant for understanding the melting behavior in 2D water/ice.

  14. First-principles comparative study on the interlayer adhesion and shear strength of transition-metal dichalcogenides and graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levita, Giacomo; Molinari, Elisa; Polcar, Tomas; Righi, Maria Clelia

    2015-08-01

    Due to their layered structure, graphene and transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are easily sheared along the basal planes. Despite a growing attention towards their use as solid lubricants, so far no head-to-head comparison has been carried out. By means of ab initio modeling of a bilayer sliding motion, we show that graphene is characterized by a shallower potential energy landscape while more similarities are attained when considering the sliding forces; we propose that the calculated interfacial ideal shear strengths afford the most accurate information on the intrinsic sliding capability of layered materials. We also investigate the effect of an applied uniaxial load: in graphene, this introduces a limited increase in the sliding barrier while in TMDs it has a substantially different impact on the possible polytypes. The polytype presenting a parallel orientation of the layers (R 0 ) bears more similarities to graphene while that with antiparallel orientation (R 180 ) shows deep changes in the potential energy landscape and consequently a sharper increase of its sliding barrier.

  15. Free energy landscape of dissociative adsorption of methane on ideal and defected graphene from ab initio simulations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wlazło, M.; Majewski, J. A.

    2018-03-01

    We study the dissociative adsorption of methane at the surface of graphene. Free energy profiles, which include activation energies for different steps of the reaction, are computed from constrained ab initio molecular dynamics. At 300 K, the reaction barriers are much lower than experimental bond dissociation energies of gaseous methane, strongly indicating that the graphene surface acts as a catalyst of methane decomposition. On the other hand, the barriers are still much higher than on the nickel surface. Methane dissociation therefore occurs at a higher rate on nickel than on graphene. This reaction is a prerequisite for graphene growth from a precursor gas. Thus, the growth of the first monolayer should be a fast and efficient process while subsequent layers grow at a diminished rate and in a more controllable manner. Defects may also influence reaction energetics. This is evident from our results, in which simple defects (Stone-Wales defect and nitrogen substitution) lead to different free energy landscapes at both dissociation and adsorption steps of the process.

  16. Highly sensitive graphene biosensor by monomolecular self-assembly of receptors on graphene surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Ji Eun; No, Young Hyun; Kim, Joo Nam; Shin, Yong Seon; Kang, Won Tae; Kim, Young Rae; Kim, Kun Nyun; Kim, Yong Ho; Yu, Woo Jong

    2017-05-01

    Graphene has attracted a great deal of interest for applications in bio-sensing devices because of its ultra-thin structure, which enables strong electrostatic coupling with target molecules, and its excellent electrical mobility promising for ultra-fast sensing speeds. However, thickly stacked receptors on the graphene's surface interrupts electrostatic coupling between graphene and charged biomolecules, which can reduce the sensitivity of graphene biosensors. Here, we report a highly sensitive graphene biosensor by the monomolecular self-assembly of designed peptide protein receptors. The graphene channel was non-covalently functionalized using peptide protein receptors via the π-π interaction along the graphene's Bravais lattice, allowing ultra-thin monomolecular self-assembly through the graphene lattice. In thickness dependent characterization, a graphene sensor with a monomolecular receptor (thickness less than 3 nm) showed five times higher sensitivity and three times higher voltage shifts than graphene sensors with thick receptor stacks (thicknesses greater than 20 nm), which is attributed to excellent gate coupling between graphene and streptavidin via an ultrathin receptor insulator. In addition to having a fast-inherent response time (less than 0.6 s) based on fast binding speed between biotin and streptavidin, our graphene biosensor is a promising platform for highly sensitive real-time monitoring of biomolecules with high spatiotemporal resolution.

  17. Effect of friction on oxidative graphite intercalation and high-quality graphene formation.

    PubMed

    Seiler, Steffen; Halbig, Christian E; Grote, Fabian; Rietsch, Philipp; Börrnert, Felix; Kaiser, Ute; Meyer, Bernd; Eigler, Siegfried

    2018-02-26

    Oxidative wet-chemical delamination of graphene from graphite is expected to become a scalable production method. However, the formation process of the intermediate stage-1 graphite sulfate by sulfuric acid intercalation and its subsequent oxidation are poorly understood and lattice defect formation must be avoided. Here, we demonstrate film formation of micrometer-sized graphene flakes with lattice defects down to 0.02% and visualize the carbon lattice by transmission electron microscopy at atomic resolution. Interestingly, we find that only well-ordered, highly crystalline graphite delaminates into oxo-functionalized graphene, whereas other graphite grades do not form a proper stage-1 intercalate and revert back to graphite upon hydrolysis. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations show that ideal stacking and electronic oxidation of the graphite layers significantly reduce the friction of the moving sulfuric acid molecules, thereby facilitating intercalation. Furthermore, the evaluation of the stability of oxo-species in graphite sulfate supports an oxidation mechanism that obviates intercalation of the oxidant.

  18. Electronic Properties of Suspended Few-Layer Graphene Membranes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Myhro, Kevin Scott

    Graphene, the two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb lattice of sp2-hybrized carbon atoms, has emerged as a "wonder" material with unique properties, such as its linear energy dispersion with massless Dirac fermions, so-called half-integer quantum Hall (QH) effect, unparalleled tensile strength, and high optical transparency and thermal conductivity. Its few-layer counterparts have similar mechanical but remarkably different electrical properties, including layer- and stacking-dependent band structures, massive charge carriers, and energy gaps that may arise from single particle effect as well as electronic interactions. This dissertation reports my six year study of dual-gated suspended few-layer graphene (FLG) field effect transistor (FET) devices. In particular, we focus on their electronic transport properties at low temperature as a function of out-of-plane electric field E⊥ and interlayer potential U⊥, charge carrier density n, temperature T, and out-of-plane (B ⊥) and parallel (B∥) magnetic fields. A number of broken symmetry states in the absence and presence of external fields are observed in rhombohedral-stacked bilayer- (BLG), trilayer- (r-TLG), and tetralayer graphene (r-4LG). We also study the morphological deformation of suspended graphene membranes under electrostatic and thermal manipulation, which is relevant for analyzing low temperature transport data. In particular, in BLG, r-TLG and r-4LG, we observe intrinsic insulating states in the absence of external fields, with energy gaps of 2, 40, and 80 meV, respectively. We attribute this increasing gap size with number of layers N to enhanced electronic-interactions near the charge neutrality point, due to the layer-dependent energy dispersions kN in r-FLG, which give rise to increasingly diverging density of states and interaction strength with increasing N, at least up to four layers. Our observations of the spontaneous insulating state in r-FLG are consistent with a layer antiferromagnetic state

  19. A Novel Intrinsic Interface State Controlled by Atomic Stacking Sequence at Interfaces of SiC/SiO2.

    PubMed

    Matsushita, Yu-Ichiro; Oshiyama, Atsushi

    2017-10-11

    On the basis of ab initio total-energy electronic-structure calculations, we find that electron states localized at the SiC/SiO 2 interface emerge in the energy region between 0.3 eV below and 1.2 eV above the bulk conduction-band minimum (CBM) of SiC, being sensitive to the sequence of atomic bilayers in SiC near the interface. These new interface states unrecognized in the past are due to the peculiar characteristics of the CBM states that are distributed along the crystallographic channels. We also find that the electron doping modifies the energetics among the different stacking structures. Implication for performance of electron devices fabricated on different SiC surfaces is discussed.

  20. Van Der Waals heterogeneous layer-layer carbon nanostructures involving π···H-C-C-H···π···H-C-C-H stacking based on graphene and graphane sheets.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Kun; Zhao, Rui-Sheng; Zheng, Jia-Jia; Zheng, Hong; Nagase, Shigeru; Zhao, Sheng-Dun; Liu, Yan-Zhi; Zhao, Xiang

    2017-04-15

    Noncovalent interactions involving aromatic rings, such as π···π stacking, CH···π are very essential for supramolecular carbon nanostructures. Graphite is a typical homogenous carbon matter based on π···π stacking of graphene sheets. Even in systems not involving aromatic groups, the stability of diamondoid dimer and layer-layer graphane dimer originates from C - H···H - C noncovalent interaction. In this article, the structures and properties of novel heterogeneous layer-layer carbon-nanostructures involving π···H-C-C-H···π···H-C-C-H stacking based on [n]-graphane and [n]-graphene and their derivatives are theoretically investigated for n = 16-54 using dispersion corrected density functional theory B3LYP-D3 method. Energy decomposition analysis shows that dispersion interaction is the most important for the stabilization of both double- and multi-layer-layer [n]-graphane@graphene. Binding energy between graphane and graphene sheets shows that there is a distinct additive nature of CH···π interaction. For comparison and simplicity, the concept of H-H bond energy equivalent number of carbon atoms (noted as NHEQ), is used to describe the strength of these noncovalent interactions. The NHEQ of the graphene dimers, graphane dimers, and double-layered graphane@graphene are 103, 143, and 110, indicating that the strength of C-H···π interaction is close to that of π···π and much stronger than that of C-H···H-C in large size systems. Additionally, frontier molecular orbital, electron density difference and visualized noncovalent interaction regions are discussed for deeply understanding the nature of the C-H···π stacking interaction in construction of heterogeneous layer-layer graphane@graphene structures. We hope that the present study would be helpful for creations of new functional supramolecular materials based on graphane and graphene carbon nano-structures. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley

  1. Graphene production by laser shot on graphene oxide: An ab initio prediction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Hong; Miyamoto, Yoshiyuki

    2012-01-01

    By performing the first-principles simulation of electron-ion dynamics based on the time-dependent density-functional theory, we propose a way to produce graphene from graphene oxides by means of the laser-induced reduction without using chemical species. Epoxy and hydroxyl groups on graphene sheets can be completely removed upon irradiation with femtosecond laser without damaging the graphene sheet. By comparing the simulated results with different pulse shapes and intensities, optimum conditions of the femtosecond laser for reduction of graphene oxide were determined. The current works will be useful for further experimental researches.

  2. Calculation of electron spectra and some problems in the thermodynamics of graphene layers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Alisultanov, Z. Z., E-mail: zaur0102@gmail.com

    The expressions for the energy spectra of monolayer, bilayer, and multilayer graphene, as well as epitaxial graphene, are derived using the quantum Green’s functions method. Analytic expressions are obtained for the densities of states of these systems. It is shown that a bandgap can appear the spectrum of an epitaxial graphene bilayer. A number of problems in the thermodynamics of electrons in free and epitaxial graphene layers are considered as applications. Analytic expressions are obtained for the chemical potential and heat capacity in the limiting cases of low and high temperatures. Quantum oscillations of heat capacity in graphene are analyzedmore » taking into account the Coulomb interaction. The Berry phase of epitaxial graphene is investigated.« less

  3. Substrate Screening Effects in ab initio Many-body Green's Function Calculations of Doped Graphene on SiC

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vigil-Fowler, Derek; Lischner, Johannes; Louie, Steven

    2013-03-01

    Understanding many-electron interaction effects and the influence of the substrate in graphene-on-substrate systems is of great theoretical and practical interest. Thus far, both model Hamiltonian and ab initio GW calculations for the quasiparticle properties of such systems have employed crude models for the effect of the substrate, often approximating the complicated substrate dielectric matrix by a single constant. We develop a method in which the spatially-dependent dielectric matrix of the substrate (e.g., SiC) is incorporated into that of doped graphene to obtain an accurate total dielectric matrix. We present ab initio GW + cumulant expansion calculations, showing that both the cumulant expansion (to include higher-order electron correlations) and a proper account of the substrate screening are needed to achieve agreement with features seen in ARPES. We discuss how this methodology could be used in other systems. This work was supported by NSF Grant No. DMR10-1006184 and U.S. DOE Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. Computational resources have been provided by the NERSC and NICS. D.V-F. acknowledges funding from the DOD's NDSEG fellowship.

  4. Chlorine-trapped CVD bilayer graphene for resistive pressure sensor with high detection limit and high sensitivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Phuong Pham, Viet; Triet Nguyen, Minh; Park, Jin Woo; Kwak, Sung Soo; Nguyen, Dieu Hien Thi; Kyeom Mun, Mu; Danh Phan, Hoang; San Kim, Doo; Kim, Ki Hyun; Lee, Nae-Eung; Yeom, Geun Young

    2017-06-01

    Pressure sensing is one of the key functions for smart electronics. Considerably more effort is required to achieve the fabrication of pressure sensors that can imitate and overcome the sophisticated pressure sensing characteristics in nature and industry, especially in the innovation of materials and structures. Almost all of the pressure sensors reported until now have a high sensitivity at a low-pressure detection limit (<10 kPa). While the exploration of a pressure sensor with a high sensitivity and a high responsivity at a high-pressure is challenging, it is required for next generation smart electronics. Here, we report an exotic heterostructure pressure sensor based on ZnO/chlorine radical-trap doped bilayer graphene (ZGClG) as an ideal channel for pressure sensors. Using this ZGClG as the channel, this study shows the possibility of forming a pressure sensor with a high sensitivity (0.19 kPa-1) and a high responsivity (0.575 s) at V  =  1 V on glass substrate. Further, the pressure detection limit of this device was as high as 98 kPa. The investigation of the sensing mechanism under pressure has revealed that the significant improved sensing effect is related to the heavy p-type chlorine trap doping in the channel graphene with chlorine radicals without damaging the graphene. This work indicates that the ZGClG channel used for the pressure sensing device could also provide a simple and essential sensing platform for chemical-, medical-, and biological-sensing for future smart electronics.

  5. DMRG study of fractional quantum Hall effect and valley skyrmions in graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shibata, Naokazu

    2011-12-01

    The ground state and low-energy excitations of graphene and its bilayer are investigated by the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method. We analyze the effect of Coulomb interaction between the electrons including valley degrees of freedoms. The obtained results show finite charge excitation gap at various fractional fillings νn = 1/3, 2/5, 2/3 in the n = 0 and 1 Landau levels of single-layer graphene (SLG) and n = 2 Landau level of bilayer graphene (BLG). The lowest charge excitations at ν = 1/3, and 1 in SLG are valley skyrmions.

  6. Fabrication of efficient graphene-doped polymer/fullerene bilayer organic solar cells in air using spin coating followed by ultrasonic vibration post treatment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zabihi, Fatemeh; Chen, Qianli; Xie, Yu; Eslamian, Morteza

    2016-12-01

    In this work, in an attempt to improve the performance and lifetime of organic solar cells, P3HT photon absorbing polymer was doped with graphene (G) nano-sheets, to make light harvesting G-P3HT composite thin film. The composite this film was then employed as the donor of a bilayer organic solar cell with the structure of glass/ITO/PEDOT:PSS/G-P3HT/C60/Al. The reference P3HT:PCBM bulk heterojunction solar cell was also fabricated for comparison. All solution-processed layers were made by spin coating in humid air (Shanghai, China); C60 and Al were deposited by thermal evaporation. An effective mechanical treatment approach developed by the authors, i.e. the application of forced ultrasonic vibration on the wet spun-on films, was used to improve the dispersion of graphene in G-P3HT composite films to obtain a uniform nanostructure. This mechanical method eliminates tedious and expensive chemical steps, currently performed to engineer the structure of organic solar cells. It is evidenced that the G-P3HT composite thin films, post treated by ultrasonic vibration at the optimum vibration duration, possess superior electrical conductivity, charge carrier mobility and density, uniform surface potential distribution, and lower surface roughness, compared to those of P3HT and G-P3HT thin films made without vibration. The results show significant improvement in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of vibration-treated G-P3HT/C60 cell (PCE = 5.17%, the highest reported for this structure), substantiating the strong positive effect of using graphene and forced vibration for the fabrication of P3HT active layer in the bilayer cell structure.

  7. Interface and interaction of graphene layers on SiC(0001[combining macron]) covered with TiC(111) intercalation.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lu; Wang, Qiang; Huang, Jianmei; Li, Wei-Qi; Chen, Guang-Hui; Yang, Yanhui

    2017-10-11

    It is important to understand the interface and interaction between the graphene layer, titanium carbide [TiC(111)] interlayer, and silicon carbide [SiC(0001[combining macron])] substrates in epitaxial growth of graphene on silicon carbide (SiC) substrates. In this study, the fully relaxed interfaces which consist of up to three layers of TiC(111) coatings on the SiC(0001[combining macron]) as well as the graphene layers interactions with these TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) were systematically studied using the density functional theory-D2 (DFT-D2) method. The results showed that the two layers of TiC(111) coating with the C/C-terminated interfaces were thermodynamically more favorable than one or three layers of TiC(111) on the SiC(0001[combining macron]). Furthermore, the bonding of the Ti-hollow-site stacked interfaces would be a stronger link than that of the Ti-Fcc-site stacked interfaces. However, the formation of the C/Ti/C and Ti/C interfaces implied that the first upper carbon layer can be formed on TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) using the decomposition of the weaker Ti-C and C-Si interfacial bonds. When growing graphene layers on these TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) substrates, the results showed that the interaction energy depended not only on the thickness of the TiC(111) interlayer, but also on the number of graphene layers. Bilayer graphene on the two layer thick TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) was thermodynamically more favorable than a monolayer or trilayer graphene on these TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) substrates. The adsorption energies of the bottom graphene layers with the TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) substrates increased with the decrease of the interface vertical distance. The interaction energies between the bottom, second and third layers of graphene on the TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) were significantly higher than that of the freestanding graphene layers. All of these findings provided

  8. Semiclassics for matrix Hamiltonians: The Gutzwiller trace formula with applications to graphene-type systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vogl, M.; Pankratov, O.; Shallcross, S.

    2017-07-01

    We present a tractable and physically transparent semiclassical theory of matrix-valued Hamiltonians, i.e., those that describe quantum systems with internal degrees of freedoms, based on a generalization of the Gutzwiller trace formula for a n ×n dimensional Hamiltonian H (p ̂,q ̂) . The classical dynamics is governed by n Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ) equations that act in a phase space endowed with a classical Berry curvature encoding anholonomy in the parallel transport of the eigenvectors of H (p ,q ) ; these vectors describe the internal structure of the semiclassical particles. At the O (ℏ1) level and for nondegenerate HJ systems, this curvature results in an additional semiclassical phase composed of (i) a Berry phase and (ii) a dynamical phase resulting from the classical particles "moving through the Berry curvature". We show that the dynamical part of this semiclassical phase will, generally, be zero only for the case in which the Berry phase is topological (i.e., depends only on the winding number). We illustrate the method by calculating the Landau spectrum for monolayer graphene, the four-band model of AB bilayer graphene, and for a more complicated matrix Hamiltonian describing the silicene band structure. Finally, we apply our method to an inhomogeneous system consisting of a strain engineered one-dimensional moiré in bilayer graphene, finding localized states near the Dirac point that arise from electron trapping in a semiclassical moiré potential. The semiclassical density of states of these localized states we show to be in perfect agreement with an exact quantum mechanical calculation of the density of states.

  9. Stacking sequence determines Raman intensities of observed interlayer shear modes in 2D layered materials--A general bond polarizability model.

    PubMed

    Luo, Xin; Lu, Xin; Cong, Chunxiao; Yu, Ting; Xiong, Qihua; Quek, Su Ying

    2015-10-15

    2D layered materials have recently attracted tremendous interest due to their fascinating properties and potential applications. The interlayer interactions are much weaker than the intralayer bonds, allowing the as-synthesized materials to exhibit different stacking sequences, leading to different physical properties. Here, we show that regardless of the space group of the 2D materials, the Raman frequencies of the interlayer shear modes observed under the typical z(xx)z configuration blue shift for AB stacked materials, and red shift for ABC stacked materials, as the number of layers increases. Our predictions are made using an intuitive bond polarizability model which shows that stacking sequence plays a key role in determining which interlayer shear modes lead to the largest change in polarizability (Raman intensity); the modes with the largest Raman intensity determining the frequency trends. We present direct evidence for these conclusions by studying the Raman modes in few layer graphene, MoS2, MoSe2, WSe2 and Bi2Se3, using both first principles calculations and Raman spectroscopy. This study sheds light on the influence of stacking sequence on the Raman intensities of intrinsic interlayer modes in 2D layered materials in general, and leads to a practical way of identifying the stacking sequence in these materials.

  10. A small graphene oxide sheet/polyvinylidene fluoride bilayer actuator with large and rapid responses to multiple stimuli.

    PubMed

    Xu, Guochuang; Zhang, Miao; Zhou, Qinqin; Chen, Hongwu; Gao, Tiantian; Li, Chun; Shi, Gaoquan

    2017-11-16

    A high-performance actuator should be able to deliver large-shape deformations, fast actuations and sensitive responses to multiple stimuli. Here, we report such an actuator constructed from one layer of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) with a high coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and another layer of small sheets of graphene oxide (SGO) with a negative CTE. The opposite deformations of both actuation layers make the SGO/PVDF bilayer actuator highly sensitive to the temperature stimulus with a large bending sensitivity of 1.5 cm -1 °C -1 . Upon irradiation with 60 mW cm -2 infrared light, this SGO/PVDF bilayer actuator displayed an extremely rapid tip displacement rate of 140 mm s -1 . Furthermore, this actuator can also sensitively respond to moisture because of its SGO layer, showing a curvature change from -22 to 13 cm -1 upon changing the relative humidity (RH) from 11% to 86%. This actuator can generate a contractile or relaxed stress 18 times that of mammalian skeletal muscle, under light irradiation or moisture with a response time as short as 1 s, being capable of lifting an object with a weight 80 times that of itself. Furthermore, it also showed excellent stability and repeatability.

  11. Graphene materials having randomly distributed two-dimensional structural defects

    DOEpatents

    Kung, Harold H; Zhao, Xin; Hayner, Cary M; Kung, Mayfair C

    2013-10-08

    Graphene-based storage materials for high-power battery applications are provided. The storage materials are composed of vertical stacks of graphene sheets and have reduced resistance for Li ion transport. This reduced resistance is achieved by incorporating a random distribution of structural defects into the stacked graphene sheets, whereby the structural defects facilitate the diffusion of Li ions into the interior of the storage materials.

  12. Graphene materials having randomly distributed two-dimensional structural defects

    DOEpatents

    Kung, Harold H.; Zhao, Xin; Hayner, Cary M.; Kung, Mayfair C.

    2016-05-31

    Graphene-based storage materials for high-power battery applications are provided. The storage materials are composed of vertical stacks of graphene sheets and have reduced resistance for Li ion transport. This reduced resistance is achieved by incorporating a random distribution of structural defects into the stacked graphene sheets, whereby the structural defects facilitate the diffusion of Li ions into the interior of the storage materials.

  13. Theory of low-power ultra-broadband terahertz sideband generation in bi-layer graphene.

    PubMed

    Crosse, J A; Xu, Xiaodong; Sherwin, Mark S; Liu, R B

    2014-09-24

    In a semiconductor illuminated by a strong terahertz (THz) field, optically excited electron-hole pairs can recombine to emit light in a broad frequency comb evenly spaced by twice the THz frequency. Such high-order THz sideband generation is of interest both as an example of extreme nonlinear optics and also as a method for ultrafast electro-optical modulation. So far, this phenomenon has only been observed with large field strengths (~10 kV cm(-1)), an obstacle for technological applications. Here we predict that bi-layer graphene generates high-order sidebands at much weaker THz fields. We find that a THz field of strength 1 kV cm(-1) can produce a high-sideband spectrum of about 30 THz, 100 times broader than in GaAs. The sidebands are generated despite the absence of classical collisions, with the quantum coherence of the electron-hole pairs enabling recombination. These remarkable features lower the barrier to desktop electro-optical modulation at THz frequencies, facilitating ultrafast optical communications.

  14. Theory of low-power ultra-broadband terahertz sideband generation in bi-layer graphene

    PubMed Central

    Crosse, J. A.; Xu, Xiaodong; Sherwin, Mark S.; Liu, R. B.

    2014-01-01

    In a semiconductor illuminated by a strong terahertz (THz) field, optically excited electron–hole pairs can recombine to emit light in a broad frequency comb evenly spaced by twice the THz frequency. Such high-order THz sideband generation is of interest both as an example of extreme nonlinear optics and also as a method for ultrafast electro-optical modulation. So far, this phenomenon has only been observed with large field strengths (~10 kV cm−1), an obstacle for technological applications. Here we predict that bi-layer graphene generates high-order sidebands at much weaker THz fields. We find that a THz field of strength 1 kV cm−1 can produce a high-sideband spectrum of about 30 THz, 100 times broader than in GaAs. The sidebands are generated despite the absence of classical collisions, with the quantum coherence of the electron–hole pairs enabling recombination. These remarkable features lower the barrier to desktop electro-optical modulation at THz frequencies, facilitating ultrafast optical communications. PMID:25249245

  15. Reconstitution of SNARE proteins into solid-supported lipid bilayer stacks and X-ray structure analysis.

    PubMed

    Xu, Yihui; Kuhlmann, Jan; Brennich, Martha; Komorowski, Karlo; Jahn, Reinhard; Steinem, Claudia; Salditt, Tim

    2018-02-01

    SNAREs are known as an important family of proteins mediating vesicle fusion. For various biophysical studies, they have been reconstituted into supported single bilayers via proteoliposome adsorption and rupture. In this study we extended this method to the reconstitution of SNAREs into supported multilamellar lipid membranes, i.e. oriented multibilayer stacks, as an ideal model system for X-ray structure analysis (X-ray reflectivity and diffraction). The reconstitution was implemented through a pathway of proteomicelle, proteoliposome and multibilayer. To monitor the structural evolution in each step, we used small-angle X-ray scattering for the proteomicelles and proteoliposomes, followed by X-ray reflectivity and grazing-incidence small-angle scattering for the multibilayers. Results show that SNAREs can be successfully reconstituted into supported multibilayers, with high enough orientational alignment for the application of surface sensitive X-ray characterizations. Based on this protocol, we then investigated the effect of SNAREs on the structure and phase diagram of the lipid membranes. Beyond this application, this reconstitution protocol could also be useful for X-ray analysis of many further membrane proteins. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Raman Excitation Profile of the G-band Enhancement in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eliel, G. S. N.; Ribeiro, H. B.; Sato, K.; Saito, R.; Lu, Chun-Chieh; Chiu, Po-Wen; Fantini, C.; Righi, A.; Pimenta, M. A.

    2017-12-01

    A resonant Raman study of twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) samples with different twisting angles using many different laser lines in the visible range is presented. The samples were fabricated by CVD technique and transferred to Si/SiO2 substrates. The Raman excitation profiles of the huge enhancement of the G-band intensity for a group of different TBG flakes were obtained experimentally, and the analysis of the profiles using a theoretical expression for the Raman intensities allowed us to obtain the energies of the van Hove singularities generated by the Moiré patterns and the lifetimes of the excited state of the Raman process. Our results exhibit a good agreement between experimental and calculated energies for van Hove singularities and show that the lifetime of photoexcited carrier does not depend significantly on the twisting angle in the range intermediate angles ( 𝜃 between 10∘ and 15∘). We observed that the width of the resonance window (Γ ≈ 250 meV) is much larger than the REP of the Raman modes of carbon nanotubes, which are also enhanced by resonances with van Hove singularities.

  17. Stacking sequence determines Raman intensities of observed interlayer shear modes in 2D layered materials – A general bond polarizability model

    PubMed Central

    Luo, Xin; Lu, Xin; Cong, Chunxiao; Yu, Ting; Xiong, Qihua; Ying Quek, Su

    2015-01-01

    2D layered materials have recently attracted tremendous interest due to their fascinating properties and potential applications. The interlayer interactions are much weaker than the intralayer bonds, allowing the as-synthesized materials to exhibit different stacking sequences, leading to different physical properties. Here, we show that regardless of the space group of the 2D materials, the Raman frequencies of the interlayer shear modes observed under the typical configuration blue shift for AB stacked materials, and red shift for ABC stacked materials, as the number of layers increases. Our predictions are made using an intuitive bond polarizability model which shows that stacking sequence plays a key role in determining which interlayer shear modes lead to the largest change in polarizability (Raman intensity); the modes with the largest Raman intensity determining the frequency trends. We present direct evidence for these conclusions by studying the Raman modes in few layer graphene, MoS2, MoSe2, WSe2 and Bi2Se3, using both first principles calculations and Raman spectroscopy. This study sheds light on the influence of stacking sequence on the Raman intensities of intrinsic interlayer modes in 2D layered materials in general, and leads to a practical way of identifying the stacking sequence in these materials. PMID:26469313

  18. Solid-state dewetting of single- and bilayer Au-W thin films: Unraveling the role of individual layer thickness, stacking sequence and oxidation on morphology evolution

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Herz, A., E-mail: andreas.herz@tu-ilmenau.de, E-mail: dong.wang@tu-ilmenau.de; Franz, A.; Theska, F.

    2016-03-15

    Self-assembly of ultrathin Au, W, and Au-W bilayer thin films is investigated using a rapid thermal annealing technique in an inert ambient. The solid-state dewetting of Au films is briefly revisited in order to emphasize the role of initial film thickness. W films deposited onto SiO{sub 2} evolve into needle-like nanocrystals rather than forming particle-like agglomerates upon annealing at elevated temperatures. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that such nanocrystals actually consist of tungsten (VI) oxide (WO{sub 3}) which is related to an anisotropic oxide crystal growth out of the thin film. The evolution of W films is highly sensitive to themore » presence of any residual oxygen. Combination of both the dewetting of Au and the oxide crystal growth of WO{sub 3} is realized by using various bilayer film configurations of the immiscible Au and W. At low temperature, Au dewetting is initiated while oxide crystal growth is still suppressed. Depending on the stacking sequence of the Au-W bilayer thin film, W acts either as a substrate or as a passivation layer for the dewetting of Au. Being the ground layer, W changes the wettability of Au which clearly modifies its initial state for the dewetting. Being the top layer, W prevents Au from dewetting regardless of Au film thickness. Moreover, regular pattern formation of Au-WO{sub 3} nanoparticles is observed at high temperature demonstrating how bilayer thin film dewetting can create unique nanostructure arrangements.« less

  19. Single-crystalline monolayer and multilayer graphene nano switches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Peng; Jing, Gaoshan; Zhang, Bo; Sando, Shota; Cui, Tianhong

    2014-03-01

    Growth of monolayer, bi-layer, and tri-layer single-crystalline graphene (SCG) using chemical vapor deposition method is reported. SCG's mechanical properties and single-crystalline nature were characterized and verified by atomic force microscope and Raman spectroscopy. Electro-mechanical switches based on mono- and bi-layer SCG were fabricated, and the superb properties of SCG enable the switches to operate at pull-in voltage as low as 1 V, and high switching speed about 100 ns. These devices exhibit lifetime without a breakdown of over 5000 cycles, far more durable than any other graphene nanoelectromechanical system switches reported.

  20. Single-crystalline monolayer and multilayer graphene nano switches

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, Peng; Cui, Tianhong, E-mail: tcui@me.umn.edu; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

    2014-03-17

    Growth of monolayer, bi-layer, and tri-layer single-crystalline graphene (SCG) using chemical vapor deposition method is reported. SCG's mechanical properties and single-crystalline nature were characterized and verified by atomic force microscope and Raman spectroscopy. Electro-mechanical switches based on mono- and bi-layer SCG were fabricated, and the superb properties of SCG enable the switches to operate at pull-in voltage as low as 1 V, and high switching speed about 100 ns. These devices exhibit lifetime without a breakdown of over 5000 cycles, far more durable than any other graphene nanoelectromechanical system switches reported.

  1. Low-Frequency Interlayer Raman Modes to Probe Interface of Twisted Bilayer MoS 2

    DOE PAGES

    Huang, Shengxi; Liang, Liangbo; Ling, Xi; ...

    2016-02-21

    A variety of van der Waals homo- and hetero- structures assembled by stamping monolayers together present optoelectronic properties suitable for diverse applications. Understanding the details of the interlayer stacking and resulting coupling is crucial for tuning these properties. Twisted bilayer transition metal dichalcogenides offer a great platform for developing a precise understanding of the structure/property relationship. Here, we study the low-frequency interlayer shear and breathing Raman modes (<50 cm-1) in twisted bilayer MoS 2 by Raman spectroscopy and first-principles modeling. Twisting introduces both rotational and translational shifts and significantly alters the interlayer stacking and coupling, leading to notable frequency andmore » intensity changes of low-frequency modes. The frequency variation can be up to 8 cm-1 and the intensity can vary by a factor of ~5 for twisting near 0 and 60 , where the stacking is a mixture of multiple high-symmetry stacking patterns and is thus especially sensitive to twisting. Moreover, for twisting angles between 20 and 40 , the interlayer coupling is nearly constant since the stacking results in mismatched lattices over the entire sample. It follows that the Raman signature is relatively uniform. Interestingly, unlike the breathing mode, the shear mode is extremely sensitive to twisting: it disappears between 20 and 40 as its frequency drops to almost zero due to the stacking-induced mismatch. Note that for some samples, multiple breathing mode peaks appear, indicating non-uniform coupling across the interface. In contrast to the low-frequency interlayer modes, high-frequency intralayer Raman modes are much less sensitive to interlayer stacking and coupling, showing negligible changes upon twisting. Our research demonstrates the effectiveness of low-frequency Raman modes for probing the interfacial coupling and environment of twisted bilayer MoS2, and potentially other two-dimensional materials and

  2. Inter-layer and intra-layer heat transfer in bilayer/monolayer graphene van der Waals heterostructure: Is there a Kapitza resistance analogous?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rajabpour, Ali; Fan, Zheyong; Vaez Allaei, S. Mehdi

    2018-06-01

    Van der Waals heterostructures have exhibited interesting physical properties. In this paper, heat transfer in hybrid coplanar bilayer/monolayer (BL-ML) graphene, as a model layered van der Waals heterostructure, was studied using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The temperature profile and inter- and intra-layer heat fluxes of the BL-ML graphene indicated that, there is no fully developed thermal equilibrium between layers and the drop in the average temperature profile at the step-like BL-ML interface is not attributable to the effect of Kapitza resistance. By increasing the length of the system up to 1 μm in the studied MD simulations, the thermally non-equilibrium region was reduced to a small area near the step-like interface. All MD results were compared to a continuum model and a good match was observed between the two approaches. Our results provide a useful understanding of heat transfer in nano- and micro-scale layered materials and van der Waals heterostructures.

  3. Spin-Dependent Phenomena in Graphene

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-03-15

    scattering on spin relaxation: By investigating the effect of gold dopants on spin transport, we concluded that charged impurity scattering is not...transport in graphene spin valves consisting of an ultrathin sheet of graphene (single or bilayer) contacted by ferromagnetic cobalt electrodes...workfunction cannot explain the observed behavior. The second effect was that the mobility was reduced by the transition metal dopants , as indicated by

  4. Chirality effect on electron phonon relaxation, energy loss, and thermopower in single and bilayer graphene in BG regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ansari, Meenhaz; Ashraf, S. S. Z.

    2017-10-01

    We investigate the energy dependent electron-phonon relaxation rate, energy loss rate, and phonon drag thermopower in single layer graphene (SLG) and bilayer graphene (BLG) under the Bloch-Gruneisen (BG) regime through coupling to acoustic phonons interacting via the Deformation potential in the Boltzmann transport equation approach. We find that the consideration of the chiral nature of electrons alters the temperature dependencies in two-dimensional structures of SLG and BLG from that shown by other conventional 2DEG system. Our investigations indicate that the BG analytical results are valid for temperatures far below the BG limit (˜TBG/4) which is in conformity with a recent experimental investigation for SLG [C. B. McKitterick et al., Phys. Rev. B 93, 075410 (2016)]. For temperatures above this renewed limit (˜TBG/4), there is observed a suppression in energy loss rate and thermo power in SLG, but enhancement is observed in relaxation rate and thermopower in BLG, while a suppression in the energy loss rate is observed in BLG. This strong nonmonotonic temperature dependence in SLG has also been experimentally observed within the BG limit [Q. Ma et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 247401 (2014)].

  5. The Nature of Metastable AA’ Graphite: Low Dimensional Nano- and Single-Crystalline Forms

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Jae-Kap; Kim, Jin-Gyu; Hembram, K. P. S. S.; Kim, Yong-Il; Min, Bong-Ki; Park, Yeseul; Lee, Jeon-Kook; Moon, Dong Ju; Lee, Wooyoung; Lee, Sang-Gil; John, Phillip

    2016-01-01

    Over the history of carbon, it is generally acknowledged that Bernal AB stacking of the sp2 carbon layers is the unique crystalline form of graphite. The universal graphite structure is synthesized at 2,600~3,000 °C and exhibits a micro-polycrystalline feature. In this paper, we provide evidence for a metastable form of graphite with an AA’ structure. The non-Bernal AA’ allotrope of graphite is synthesized by the thermal- and plasma-treatment of graphene nanopowders at ~1,500 °C. The formation of AA’ bilayer graphene nuclei facilitates the preferred texture growth and results in single-crystal AA’ graphite in the form of nanoribbons (1D) or microplates (2D) of a few nm in thickness. Kinetically controlled AA’ graphite exhibits unique nano- and single-crystalline feature and shows quasi-linear behavior near the K-point of the electronic band structure resulting in anomalous optical and acoustic phonon behavior. PMID:28000780

  6. Homoepitaxial graphene tunnel barriers for spin transport

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Friedman, Adam

    Tunnel barriers are key elements for both charge-and spin-based electronics, offering devices with reduced power consumption and new paradigms for information processing. Such devices require mating dissimilar materials, raising issues of heteroepitaxy, interface stability, and electronic states that severely complicate fabrication and compromise performance. Graphene is the perfect tunnel barrier. It is an insulator out-of-plane, possesses a defect-free, linear habit, and is impervious to interdiffusion. Nonetheless, true tunneling between two stacked graphene layers is not possible in environmental conditions (magnetic field, temperature, etc.) usable for electronics applications. However, two stacked graphene layers can be decoupled using chemical functionalization. We demonstrate successful tunneling, charge, and spin transport with a fluorinated graphene tunnel barrier on a graphene channel. We show that while spin transport stops short of room temperature, spin polarization efficiency values are the highest of any graphene spin devices. We also demonstrate that hydrogenation of graphene can also be used to create a tunnel barrier. We begin with a four-layer stack of graphene and hydrogenate the top few layers to decouple them from the graphene transport channel beneath. We demonstrate successful tunneling by measuring non-linear IV curves and a weakly temperature dependent zero-bias resistance. We demonstrate lateral transport of spin currents in non-local spin-valve structures and determine spin lifetimes with the non-local Hanle effect to be commensurate with previous studies. The measured spin polarization efficiencies for hydrogenated graphene are higher than most oxide tunnel barriers on graphene, but not as high as with fluorinated graphene tunnel barriers. However, here we show that spin transport persists up to room temperature. Our results for the hydrogenated graphene tunnel barriers are compared with fluorinated tunnel barriers and we discuss the

  7. Few-layer and symmetry-breaking effects on the electrical properties of ordered CF3Cl phases on graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morales-Cifuentes, Josue; Wang, Yilin; Reutt-Robey, Janice; Einstein, T. L.

    2014-03-01

    An effective pseudopotential mechanism for breaking the inherent sub-lattice symmetry of graphene has been studied using DFT calculations on hexagonal boron nitride. Electrical detection of CF3Cl phase transitions on graphene shows the existence of a commensurate ordered phase in which this can be tested. We study the electronic properties of this phase using VASP ver 5.3.3, with ab initio van der Waals density functionals (vdW-DF1 and vdW-DF2). Consistent with a physisorbed phase, binding energies and charge transfer per CF3Cl molecule are calculated to be on the order of 280meV and 0.01e, respectively. By exploring different coverages and orientations of this ordered phase we are able to open a band gap in some configurations; said gap is in the range of 8 to 80meV depending on the strength of the effective pseudopotential. Furthermore, we calculate the screening of these effects in bi-layer and tri-layer graphene. Work supported by NSF-MRSEC at UMD, grant DMR 05-20471 and NSF-CHE 13-05892.

  8. Topological Valley Transport in Two-dimensional Honeycomb Photonic Crystals.

    PubMed

    Yang, Yuting; Jiang, Hua; Hang, Zhi Hong

    2018-01-25

    Two-dimensional photonic crystals, in analogy to AB/BA stacking bilayer graphene in electronic system, are studied. Inequivalent valleys in the momentum space for photons can be manipulated by simply engineering diameters of cylinders in a honeycomb lattice. The inequivalent valleys in photonic crystal are selectively excited by a designed optical chiral source and bulk valley polarizations are visualized. Unidirectional valley interface states are proved to exist on a domain wall connecting two photonic crystals with different valley Chern numbers. With the similar optical vortex index, interface states can couple with bulk valley polarizations and thus valley filter and valley coupler can be designed. Our simple dielectric PC scheme can help to exploit the valley degree of freedom for future optical devices.

  9. Incommensurate Graphene Foam as a High Capacity Lithium Intercalation Anode

    PubMed Central

    Paronyan, Tereza M.; Thapa, Arjun Kumar; Sherehiy, Andriy; Jasinski, Jacek B.; Jangam, John Samuel Dilip

    2017-01-01

    Graphite’s capacity of intercalating lithium in rechargeable batteries is limited (theoretically, 372 mAh g−1) due to low diffusion within commensurately-stacked graphene layers. Graphene foam with highly enriched incommensurately-stacked layers was grown and applied as an active electrode in rechargeable batteries. A 93% incommensurate graphene foam demonstrated a reversible specific capacity of 1,540 mAh g−1 with a 75% coulombic efficiency, and an 86% incommensurate sample achieves above 99% coulombic efficiency exhibiting 930 mAh g−1 specific capacity. The structural and binding analysis of graphene show that lithium atoms highly intercalate within weakly interacting incommensurately-stacked graphene network, followed by a further flexible rearrangement of layers for a long-term stable cycling. We consider lithium intercalation model for multilayer graphene where capacity varies with N number of layers resulting LiN+1C2N stoichiometry. The effective capacity of commonly used carbon-based rechargeable batteries can be significantly improved using incommensurate graphene as an anode material. PMID:28059110

  10. Enhancement of mechanical and electrical properties of continuous-fiber-reinforced epoxy composites with stacked graphene

    PubMed Central

    Shepelev, Olga; Kenig, Samuel

    2017-01-01

    Impregnation of expandable graphite (EG) after thermal treatment with an epoxy resin containing surface-active agents (SAAs) enhanced the intercalation of epoxy monomer between EG layers and led to further exfoliation of the graphite, resulting in stacks of few graphene layers, so-called “stacked” graphene (SG). This process enabled electrical conductivity of cured epoxy/SG composites at lower percolation thresholds, and improved thermo-mechanical properties were measured with either Kevlar, carbon or glass-fiber-reinforced composites. Several compositions with SAA-modified SG led to higher dynamic moduli especially at high temperatures, reflecting the better wetting ability of the modified nanoparticles. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic nature of the SAA dictates the surface energy balance. More hydrophilic SAAs promoted localization of the SG at the Kevlar/epoxy interface, and morphology seems to be driven by thermodynamics, rather than the kinetic effect of viscosity. This effect was less obvious with carbon or glass fibers, due to the lower surface energy of the carbon fibers or some incompatibility with the glass-fiber sizing. Proper choice of the surfactant and fine-tuning of the crosslink density at the interphase may provide further enhancements in thermo-mechanical behavior. PMID:29046838

  11. Graphite, graphene and the flat band superconductivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Volovik, G. E.

    2018-04-01

    Superconductivity has been observed in bilayer graphene [1,2]. The main factor, which determines the mechanism of the formation of this superconductivity is the "magic angle" of twist of two graphene layers, at which the electronic band structure becomes nearly flat. The specific role played by twist and by the band flattening, has been earlier suggested for explanations of the signatures of room-temperature superconductivity observed in the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), when the quasi two-dimensional interfaces between the twisted domains are present. The interface contains the periodic array of misfit dislocations (analogs of the boundaries of the unit cell of the Moire superlattice in bilayer graphene), which provide the possible source of the flat band. This demonstrates that it is high time for combination of the theoretical and experimental efforts in order to reach the reproducible room-temperature superconductivity in graphite or in similar real or artificial materials.

  12. Generation and detection of pure valley current by electrically induced Berry curvature in bilayer graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shimazaki, Y.; Yamamoto, M.; Borzenets, I. V.; Watanabe, K.; Taniguchi, T.; Tarucha, S.

    2015-12-01

    The field of `Valleytronics’ has recently been attracting growing interest as a promising concept for the next generation electronics, because non-dissipative pure valley currents with no accompanying net charge flow can be manipulated for computational use, akin to pure spin currents. Valley is a quantum number defined in an electronic system whose energy bands contain energetically degenerate but non-equivalent local minima (conduction band) or maxima (valence band) due to a certain crystal structure. Specifically, spatial inversion symmetry broken two-dimensional honeycomb lattice systems exhibiting Berry curvature is a subset of possible systems that enable optical, magnetic and electrical control of the valley degree of freedom. Here we use dual-gated bilayer graphene to electrically induce and control broken inversion symmetry (or Berry curvature) as well as the carrier density for generating and detecting the pure valley current. In the insulating regime, at zero-magnetic field, we observe a large nonlocal resistance that scales cubically with the local resistivity, which is evidence of pure valley current.

  13. High-Stacking-Density, Superior-Roughness LDH Bridged with Vertically Aligned Graphene for High-Performance Asymmetric Supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Guo, Wei; Yu, Chang; Li, Shaofeng; Yang, Juan; Liu, Zhibin; Zhao, Changtai; Huang, Huawei; Zhang, Mengdi; Han, Xiaotong; Niu, Yingying; Qiu, Jieshan

    2017-10-01

    The high-performance electrode materials with tuned surface and interface structure and functionalities are highly demanded for advanced supercapacitors. A novel strategy is presented to conFigure high-stacking-density, superior-roughness nickel manganese layered double hydroxide (LDH) bridged by vertically aligned graphene (VG) with nickel foam (NF) as the conductive collector, yielding the LDH-NF@VG hybrids for asymmetric supercapacitors. The VG nanosheets provide numerous electron transfer channels for quick redox reactions, and well-developed open structure for fast mass transport. Moreover, the high-stacking-density LDH grown and assembled on VG nanosheets result in a superior hydrophilicity derived from the tuned nano/microstructures, especially microroughness. Such a high stacking density with abundant active sites and superior wettability can be easily accessed by aqueous electrolytes. Benefitting from the above features, the LDH-NF@VG can deliver a high capacitance of 2920 F g -1 at a current density of 2 A g -1 , and the asymmetric supercapacitor with the LDH-NF@VG as positive electrode and activated carbon as negative electrode can deliver a high energy density of 56.8 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 260 W kg -1 , with a high specific capacitance retention rate of 87% even after 10 000 cycles. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. First principles investigation of nitrogenated holey graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Cui-Yan; Dong, Hai-Kuan; Shi, Li-Bin

    2018-04-01

    The zero band gap problem limits the application of graphene in the field of electronic devices. Opening the band gap of graphene has become a research issue. Nitrogenated holey graphene (NHG) has attracted much attention because of its semiconducting properties. However, the stacking orders and defect properties have not been investigated. In this letter, the structural and stacking properties of NHG are first investigated. We obtain the most stable stacking structure. Then, the band structures for bulk and multilayer NHG are studied. Impact of the strain on the band gaps and bond characteristics is discussed. In addition, we investigate formation mechanism of native defects of carbon vacancy (VC), carbon interstitial (Ci), nitrogen vacancy (VN), and nitrogen interstitial (Ni) in bulk NHG. Formation energies and transition levels of these native defects are assessed.

  15. Impurity effects on electrical conductivity of doped bilayer graphene in the presence of a bias voltage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    E, Lotfi; H, Rezania; B, Arghavaninia; M, Yarmohammadi

    2016-07-01

    We address the electrical conductivity of bilayer graphene as a function of temperature, impurity concentration, and scattering strength in the presence of a finite bias voltage at finite doping, beginning with a description of the tight-binding model using the linear response theory and Green’s function approach. Our results show a linear behavior at high doping for the case of high bias voltage. The effects of electron doping on the electrical conductivity have been studied via changing the electronic chemical potential. We also discuss and analyze how the bias voltage affects the temperature behavior of the electrical conductivity. Finally, we study the behavior of the electrical conductivity as a function of the impurity concentration and scattering strength for different bias voltages and chemical potentials respectively. The electrical conductivity is found to be monotonically decreasing with impurity scattering strength due to the increased scattering among electrons at higher impurity scattering strength.

  16. Nanoplasmonic Phenomena at Electronic Boundaries in Graphene

    DOE PAGES

    Fei, Zhe; Ni, Guang -Xin; Jiang, Bor -Yuan; ...

    2017-06-30

    Here, we review recent discoveries of the intriguing plasmonic phenomena at a variety of electronic boundaries (EBs) in graphene including a line of charges in graphene induced by a carbon nanotube gate, grain boundaries in chemical vapor deposited graphene films, an interface between graphene and moiré patterned graphene, an interface between graphene and bilayer graphene, and others. All these and other EBs cause plasmonic impedance mismatch at the two sides of the boundaries. Manifestations of this effect include plasmonic fringes that stem from plasmon reflections and interference. Quantitative analysis and modeling of these plasmonic fringes uncovered intriguing properties and underlyingmore » physics of the EBs. Potential plasmonic applications associated with these EBs are also briefly discussed.« less

  17. Nanoplasmonic Phenomena at Electronic Boundaries in Graphene

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fei, Zhe; Ni, Guang -Xin; Jiang, Bor -Yuan

    Here, we review recent discoveries of the intriguing plasmonic phenomena at a variety of electronic boundaries (EBs) in graphene including a line of charges in graphene induced by a carbon nanotube gate, grain boundaries in chemical vapor deposited graphene films, an interface between graphene and moiré patterned graphene, an interface between graphene and bilayer graphene, and others. All these and other EBs cause plasmonic impedance mismatch at the two sides of the boundaries. Manifestations of this effect include plasmonic fringes that stem from plasmon reflections and interference. Quantitative analysis and modeling of these plasmonic fringes uncovered intriguing properties and underlyingmore » physics of the EBs. Potential plasmonic applications associated with these EBs are also briefly discussed.« less

  18. Graphene growth with ‘no’ feedstock

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qing, Fangzhu; Jia, Ruitao; Li, Bao-Wen; Liu, Chunlin; Li, Congzhou; Peng, Bo; Deng, Longjiang; Zhang, Wanli; Li, Yanrong; Ruoff, Rodney S.; Li, Xuesong

    2017-06-01

    Synthesis of graphene by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from hydrocarbons on Cu foil substrates can yield high quality and large area graphene films. In a typical CVD process, a hydrocarbon in the gas phase is introduced for graphene growth and hydrogen is usually required to achieve high quality graphene. We have found that in a low pressure CVD system equipped with an oil mechanical vacuum pump located downstream, graphene can be grown without deliberate introduction of a carbon feedstock but with only trace amounts of C present in the system, the origin of which we attribute to the vapor of the pump oil. This finding may help to rationalize the differences in graphene growth reported by different research groups. It should also help to gain an in-depth understanding of graphene growth mechanisms with the aim to improve the reproducibility and structure control in graphene synthesis, e.g. the formation of large area single crystal graphene and uniform bilayer graphene.

  19. Electronic structure and optical properties of twisted bilayer graphene calculated via time evolution of states in real space

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Le, H. Anh; Do, V. Nam

    2018-03-01

    We investigate the electronic and optical properties of twisted bilayer graphene with arbitrary twist angles θ . Our results are based on a method of evolving in time quantum states in lattice space. We propose an efficient scheme of sampling lattice nodes that helps to reduce significantly computational cost, particularly for tiny twist angles. We demonstrate the continuous variation of the density of states and the optical conductivity with respect to the twist angle. It indicates that the commensurability between the two graphene layers does not play an essential role in governing the electronic and optical properties. We point out that, for the twist angles roughly in the range 0 .1∘<θ <3∘ , the density of states in the vicinity of the Fermi energy exhibits the typical W shape with a small peak locating at the Fermi energy. This peak is formed as the merging of two van Hove peaks and reflects the appearance of states strongly localized in the AA-like region of moiré zones. When decreasing the twist angle to zero, the W shape is gradually transformed to the U shape, which is seen as the behavior of the density of states in the limit of θ →0∘ .

  20. How graphene slides: measurement and theory of strain-dependent frictional forces between graphene and SiO2.

    PubMed

    Kitt, Alexander L; Qi, Zenan; Rémi, Sebastian; Park, Harold S; Swan, Anna K; Goldberg, Bennett B

    2013-06-12

    Strain, bending rigidity, and adhesion are interwoven in determining how graphene responds when pulled across a substrate. Using Raman spectroscopy of circular, graphene-sealed microchambers under variable external pressure, we demonstrate that graphene is not firmly anchored to the substrate when pulled. Instead, as the suspended graphene is pushed into the chamber under pressure, the supported graphene outside the microchamber is stretched and slides, pulling in an annulus. Analyzing Raman G band line scans with a continuum model extended to include sliding, we extract the pressure dependent sliding friction between the SiO2 substrate and mono-, bi-, and trilayer graphene. The sliding friction for trilayer graphene is directly proportional to the applied load, but the friction for monolayer and bilayer graphene is inversely proportional to the strain in the graphene, which is in violation of Amontons' law. We attribute this behavior to the high surface conformation enabled by the low bending rigidity and strong adhesion of few layer graphene.

  1. Method for obtaining structure and interactions from oriented lipid bilayers

    PubMed Central

    Lyatskaya, Yulia; Liu, Yufeng; Tristram-Nagle, Stephanie; Katsaras, John; Nagle, John F.

    2009-01-01

    Precise calculations are made of the scattering intensity I(q) from an oriented stack of lipid bilayers using a realistic model of fluctuations. The quantities of interest include the bilayer bending modulus Kc , the interbilayer interaction modulus B, and bilayer structure through the form factor F(qz). It is shown how Kc and B may be obtained from data at large qz where fluctuations dominate. Good estimates of F(qz) can be made over wide ranges of qz by using I(q) in q regions away from the peaks and for qr≠0 where details of the scattering domains play little role. Rough estimates of domain sizes can also be made from smaller qz data. Results are presented for data taken on fully hydrated, oriented DOPC bilayers in the Lα phase. These results illustrate the advantages of oriented samples compared to powder samples. PMID:11304287

  2. Electronic dispersion from long-range atomic ordering and periodic potentials in two overlapping graphene sheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ohta, Taisuke; Robinson, Jeremy; Feibelman, Peter; Beechem, Thomas; Diaconescu, Bogdan; Bostwick, Aaron; Rotenberg, Eli; Kellogg, Gary

    2013-03-01

    A worldwide effort is underway to learn how to build devices that take advantage of the remarkable electronic properties of graphene and other two-dimensional crystals. An outstanding question is how stacking two or a few such crystals affects their joint electronic behavior. Our talk concerns ``twisted bilayer graphene (TBG),'' that is, two graphene layers azimuthally misoriented. Applying angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory, we have found van Hove singularities (vHs) and associated mini-gaps in the TBG electronic spectrum, which represent unambiguous proof that the layers interact. Of particular interest is that the measured and calculated electronic dispersion manifests the periodicity of the moiré superlattice formed by the twist. Thus, there are vHs not just where the Dirac cones of the two layers overlap, but also at the boundaries of the moiré superlattice Brillouin zone. Moirés, ubiquitous in hybrid solids based on two-dimensional crystals, accordingly present themselves as tools for manipulating the electronic behavior. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

  3. Diffusion in Single Supported Lipid Bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Armstrong, C. L.; Trapp, M.; Rheinstädter, M. C.

    2011-03-01

    Despite their potential relevance for the development of functionalized surfaces and biosensors, the study of single supported membranes using neutron scattering has been limited by the challenge of obtaining relevant dynamic information from a sample with minimal material. Using state of the art neutron instrumentation we have, for the first time, modeled lipid diffusion in single supported lipid bilayers. While we find that the diffusion coefficient for the single bilayer system is comparable to a multi-lamellar lipid system, the molecular mechanism for lipid motion in the single bilayer is a continuous diffusion process with no sign of the flow-like ballistic motion reported in the stacked membrane system. In the future, these membranes will be used to hold and align proteins, mimicking physiological conditions enabling the study of protein structure, function and interactions in relevant and highly topical membrane/protein systems with minimal sample material. C.L. Armstrong, M.D. Kaye, M. Zamponi, E. Mamontov, M. Tyagi, T. Jenkins and M.C. Rheinstädter, Soft Matter Communication, 2010, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C0SM00637H

  4. h -AlN-Mg(OH)2 van der Waals bilayer heterostructure: Tuning the excitonic characteristics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bacaksiz, C.; Dominguez, A.; Rubio, A.; Senger, R. T.; Sahin, H.

    2017-02-01

    Motivated by recent studies that reported the successful synthesis of monolayer Mg (OH) 2 [Suslu et al., Sci. Rep. 6, 20525 (2016), 10.1038/srep20525] and hexagonal (h -)AlN [Tsipas et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 103, 251605 (2013), 10.1063/1.4851239], we investigate structural, electronic, and optical properties of vertically stacked h -AlN and Mg (OH) 2 , through ab initio density-functional theory (DFT), many-body quasiparticle calculations within the GW approximation and the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE). It is obtained that the bilayer heterostructure prefers the A B' stacking having direct band gap at the Γ with Type-II band alignment in which the valance band maximum and conduction band minimum originate from different layer. Regarding the optical properties, the imaginary part of the dielectric function of the individual layers and heterobilayer are investigated. The heterobilayer possesses excitonic peaks, which appear only after the construction of the heterobilayer. The lowest three exciton peaks are analyzed in detail by means of band decomposed charge density and the oscillator strength. Furthermore, the wave function calculation shows that the first peak of the heterobilayer originates from spatially indirect exciton where the electron and hole localized at h -AlN and Mg (OH) 2 , respectively, which is important for the light harvesting applications.

  5. Commensurability condition and hierarchy of fillings for FQHE in higher Landau levels in conventional 2DEG systems and in graphene—monolayer and bilayer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jacak, Janusz; Jacak, Lucjan

    2016-01-01

    The structure of the filling rate hierarchy referred to as the fractional quantum Hall effect is studied in higher Landau levels using the commensurability condition. The hierarchy of fillings that are derived in this manner is consistent with the experimental observations of the first three Landau levels in conventional semiconductor Hall systems. The relative poverty of the fractional structure in higher Landau levels compared with the lowest Landau level is explained using commensurability topological arguments. The commensurability criterion for correlated states for higher Landau levels (with n≥slant 1) including the paired states at half fillings of the spin-subbands of these levels is formulated. The commensurability condition is applied to determine the hierarchy of the fractional fillings of Landau levels in the monolayer and bilayer graphene. Good agreement with current experimental observations of fractional quantum Hall effect in the graphene monolayer and bilayer is achieved. The presence of even denominator rates in the hierarchy for fractional quantum Hall effect in the bilayer graphene is also explained.

  6. EDITORIAL: Special issue on Graphene Special issue on Graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morpurgo, Alberto F.; Trauzettel, Björn

    2010-03-01

    Since the revolutionary experimental discovery of graphene in the year 2004, research on this new two-dimensional carbon allotrope has progressed at a spectacular pace. The impact of graphene on different areas of research— including physics, chemistry, and applied sciences— is only now starting to be fully appreciated. There are different factors that make graphene a truly impressive system. Regarding nano-electronics and related fields, for instance, it is the exceptional electronic and mechanical properties that yield very high room-temperature mobility values, due to the particular band structure, the material `cleanliness' (very low-concentration of impurities), as well as its stiffness. Also interesting is the possibility to have a high electrical conductivity and optical transparency, a combination which cannot be easily found in other material systems. For other fields, other properties could be mentioned, many of which are currently being explored. In the first years following this discovery, research on graphene has mainly focused on the fundamental physics aspects, triggered by the fact that electrons in graphene behave as Dirac fermions due to their interaction with the ions of the honeycomb lattice. This direction has led to the discovery of new phenomena such as Klein tunneling in a solid state system and the so-called half-integer quantum Hall effect due to a special type of Berry phase that appears in graphene. It has also led to the appreciation of thicker layers of graphene, which also have outstanding new properties of great interest in their own right (e.g., bilayer graphene, which supports chiral quasiparticles that, contrary to Dirac electrons, are not massless). Now the time is coming to deepen our knowledge and improve our control of the material properties, which is a key aspect to take one step further towards applications. The articles in the Semiconductor Science and Technology Graphene special issue deal with a diversity of topics

  7. Ab initio study of boron nitride lines on graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mata-Carrizal, Berenice; Sanginés-Mendoza, Raúl; Martinez, Edgar

    2013-03-01

    Graphene has unusual electronic properties which make it a promising material for electronic devices. Neverthless, the absence of a band gap sets limitations on its practical applications. Thus, it is crucial to find methods to create and tune the band gap of systems based on graphene. In this way, we explore the modulation of the electronic properties of graphene through doping with boron nitride lines. In particular, we studied the electronic structure of graphene sheets doped with boron nitride lines armchair and zigzag type. The calculations were performed using the pseudopotential LCAO method with a Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) for the exchange-correlation energy functional. We found that both doping lines type induce a bandgap and that the energy gap increases as the length of doping lines increases. Accordingly to our DFT calculations, we found that the energy gap on graphene doped with armchair and zigzag lines is due to a two different mechanisms to drain charge from pi- to sigma- orbitals. Thus, we found that doping graphene with boron nitride lines is a useful way to induce and modulate the bandgap on graphene. This research was supported by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (Conacyt) under Grant No. 133022.

  8. Effect of multilayer structure, stacking order and external electric field on the electrical properties of few-layer boron-phosphide.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xianping; Tan, Chunjian; Yang, Qun; Meng, Ruishen; Liang, Qiuhua; Jiang, Junke; Sun, Xiang; Yang, D Q; Ren, Tianling

    2016-06-28

    Development of nanoelectronics requires two-dimensional (2D) systems with both direct-bandgap and tunable electronic properties as they act in response to the external electric field (E-field). Here, we present a detailed theoretical investigation to predict the effect of atomic structure, stacking order and external electric field on the electrical properties of few-layer boron-phosphide (BP). We demonstrate that the splitting of bands and bandgap of BP depends on the number of layers and the stacking order. The values for the bandgap show a monotonically decreasing relationship with increasing layer number. We also show that AB-stacking BP has a direct-bandgap, while ABA-stacking BP has an indirect-bandgap when the number of layers n > 2. In addition, for a bilayer and a trilayer, the bandgap increases (decreases) as the electric field increases along the positive direction of the external electric field (E-field) (negative direction). In the case of four-layer BP, the bandgap exhibits a nonlinearly decreasing behavior as the increase in the electric field is independent of the electric field direction. The tunable mechanism of the bandgap can be attributed to a giant Stark effect. Interestingly, the investigation also shows that a semiconductor-to-metal transition may occur for the four-layer case or more layers beyond the critical electric field. Our findings may inspire more efforts in fabricating new nanoelectronics devices based on few-layer BP.

  9. Abrupt current switching in graphene bilayer tunnel transistors enabled by van Hove singularities.

    PubMed

    Alymov, Georgy; Vyurkov, Vladimir; Ryzhii, Victor; Svintsov, Dmitry

    2016-04-21

    In a continuous search for the energy-efficient electronic switches, a great attention is focused on tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs) demonstrating an abrupt dependence of the source-drain current on the gate voltage. Among all TFETs, those based on one-dimensional (1D) semiconductors exhibit the steepest current switching due to the singular density of states near the band edges, though the current in 1D structures is pretty low. In this paper, we propose a TFET based on 2D graphene bilayer which demonstrates a record steep subthreshold slope enabled by van Hove singularities in the density of states near the edges of conduction and valence bands. Our simulations show the accessibility of 3.5 × 10(4) ON/OFF current ratio with 150 mV gate voltage swing, and a maximum subthreshold slope of (20 μV/dec)(-1) just above the threshold. The high ON-state current of 0.8 mA/μm is enabled by a narrow (~0.3 eV) extrinsic band gap, while the smallness of the leakage current is due to an all-electrical doping of the source and drain contacts which suppresses the band tailing and trap-assisted tunneling.

  10. Abrupt current switching in graphene bilayer tunnel transistors enabled by van Hove singularities

    PubMed Central

    Alymov, Georgy; Vyurkov, Vladimir; Ryzhii, Victor; Svintsov, Dmitry

    2016-01-01

    In a continuous search for the energy-efficient electronic switches, a great attention is focused on tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs) demonstrating an abrupt dependence of the source-drain current on the gate voltage. Among all TFETs, those based on one-dimensional (1D) semiconductors exhibit the steepest current switching due to the singular density of states near the band edges, though the current in 1D structures is pretty low. In this paper, we propose a TFET based on 2D graphene bilayer which demonstrates a record steep subthreshold slope enabled by van Hove singularities in the density of states near the edges of conduction and valence bands. Our simulations show the accessibility of 3.5 × 104 ON/OFF current ratio with 150 mV gate voltage swing, and a maximum subthreshold slope of (20 μV/dec)−1 just above the threshold. The high ON-state current of 0.8 mA/μm is enabled by a narrow (~0.3 eV) extrinsic band gap, while the smallness of the leakage current is due to an all-electrical doping of the source and drain contacts which suppresses the band tailing and trap-assisted tunneling. PMID:27098051

  11. Biological Response of Osteoblastic and Chondrogenic Cells to Graphene-Containing PCL/Bioactive Glass Bilayered Scaffolds for Osteochondral Tissue Engineering Applications.

    PubMed

    Deliormanlı, Aylin M; Atmaca, Harika

    2018-05-25

    Graphene-containing 13-93 bioactive glass and poly(ε-caprolactone)-based bilayer, electrically conductive scaffolds were prepared for osteochondral tissue repair. Biological response of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 and chondrogenic ATDC5 cells to the composite scaffolds was assessed under mono-culture and co-culture conditions. Cytotoxicity was investigated using MTT assay, cartilage matrix production was evaluated by Alcian blue staining, and mineralization of both types of cells in the different culture systems was observed by Alizarin red S staining. Results showed that osteoblastic and chondrogenic cells utilized in the study did not show toxic response to the prepared scaffolds under mono-culture conditions and higher cell viability rates were obtained in co-culture conditions. Larger mineralized areas were determined under co-culture conditions and calcium deposition amount significantly increased compared with that in control group samples after 21 days. Additionally, the amount of glycosaminoglycans synthesized in co-culture was higher compared to mono-culture conditions. Electric stimulation applied under mono-culture conditions suppressed the viability of MC3T3-E1 cells whereas it enhanced the viability rates of ATDC5 cells. The study suggests that the designed bilayered osteochondral constructs have the potential for osteochondral defect repair.

  12. Metal-doped graphene layers composed with boron nitride-graphene as an insulator: a nano-capacitor.

    PubMed

    Monajjemi, Majid

    2014-11-01

    A model of a nanoscale dielectric capacitor composed of a few dopants has been investigated in this study. This capacitor includes metallic graphene layers which are separated by an insulating medium containing a few h-BN layers. It has been observed that the elements from group IIIA of the periodic table are more suitable as dopants for hetero-structures of the {metallic graphene/hBN/metallic graphene} capacitors compared to those from groups IA or IIA. In this study, we have specifically focused on the dielectric properties of different graphene/h-BN/graphene including their hetero-structure counterparts, i.e., Boron-graphene/h-BN/Boron-graphene, Al-graphene/h-BN/Al-graphene, Mg-graphene/h-BN/Mg-graphene, and Be-graphene/h-BN/Be-graphene stacks for monolayer form of dielectrics. Moreover, we studied the multi dielectric properties of different (h-BN)n/graphene hetero-structures of Boron-graphene/(h-BN)n/Boron-graphene.

  13. Distinguishability of stacks in ZnTe/ZnSe quantum dots via spectral analysis of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roy, Bidisha; Ji, Haojie; Dhomkar, Siddharth; Cadieu, Fred J.; Peng, Le; Moug, Richard; Tamargo, Maria C.; Kuskovsky, Igor L.

    2013-02-01

    A spectral analysis of the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillations in photoluminescence intensity was performed for stacked type-II ZnTe/ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) fabricated within multilayered Zn-Se-Te system with sub-monolayer insertions of Te. Robust AB oscillations allowed for fine probing of distinguishable QDs stacks within the ensemble of QDs. The AB transition magnetic field, B AB , changed from the lower energy side to the higher energy side of the PL spectra revealing the presence of different sets of QDs stacks. The change occurs within the spectral range, where the contributing green and blue bands of the spectra overlapped. "Bundling" in lifetime measurements is seen at transition spectral regions confirming the results.

  14. Designing graphene absorption in a multispectral plasmon-enhanced infrared detector

    DOE PAGES

    Goldflam, Michael D.; Fei, Zhe; Ruiz, Isaac; ...

    2017-05-18

    Here, we have examined graphene absorption in a range of graphene-based infrared devices that combine either monolayer or bilayer graphene with three different gate dielectrics. Electromagnetic simulations show that the optical absorption in graphene in these devices, an important factor in a functional graphene-based detector, is strongly dielectric-dependent. Our simulations reveal that plasmonic excitation in graphene can significantly influence the percentage of light absorbed in the entire device, as well as the graphene layer itself, with graphene absorption exceeding 25% in regions where plasmonic excitation occurs. Notably, the dielectric environment of graphene has a dramatic influence on the strength andmore » wavelength range over which the plasmons can be excited, making dielectric choice paramount to final detector tunability and sensitivity.« less

  15. Designing graphene absorption in a multispectral plasmon-enhanced infrared detector

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Goldflam, Michael D.; Fei, Zhe; Ruiz, Isaac

    Here, we have examined graphene absorption in a range of graphene-based infrared devices that combine either monolayer or bilayer graphene with three different gate dielectrics. Electromagnetic simulations show that the optical absorption in graphene in these devices, an important factor in a functional graphene-based detector, is strongly dielectric-dependent. Our simulations reveal that plasmonic excitation in graphene can significantly influence the percentage of light absorbed in the entire device, as well as the graphene layer itself, with graphene absorption exceeding 25% in regions where plasmonic excitation occurs. Notably, the dielectric environment of graphene has a dramatic influence on the strength andmore » wavelength range over which the plasmons can be excited, making dielectric choice paramount to final detector tunability and sensitivity.« less

  16. Chemical Vapor Deposition Synthesis of Graphene-Based Materials and Chemical Modulation of Graphene Electronics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Zheng

    Graphene, a two-dimensional sp2-bonded carbon material, has attracted enormous attention due to its excellent electrical, optical and mechanical properties. Recently developed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods could produce large-size and uniform polycrystalline graphene films, limited to gas carbon sources, metal catalyst substrates and degraded properties induced by grain boundaries. Meanwhile, pristine monolayer graphene exhibits a standard ambipolar behavior with a zero neutrality point in field-effect transistors (FETs), limiting its future electronic applications. This thesis starts with the investigation of CVD synthesis of pristine and N-doped graphene with controlled thickness using solid carbon sources on metal catalyst substrates (chapter 1), and then discusses the direct growth of bilayer graphene on insulating substrates, including SiO2, h-BN, Si3N4 and Al2O3, without needing further transfer-process (chapter 2). Chapter 3 discusses the synthesis of high-quality graphene single crystals and hexagonal onion-ring-like graphene domains, and also explores the basic growth mechanism of graphene on Cu substrates. To extend graphene's potential applications, both vertical and planar graphene-carbon nanotube hybrids are fabricated using CVD method and their interesting properties are investigated (chapter 4). Chapter 5 discusses how to use chemical methods to modulate graphene's electronic behaviors.

  17. Aqueous Exfoliation of Graphite into Graphene Assisted by Sulfonyl Graphene Quantum Dots for Photonic Crystal Applications.

    PubMed

    Zeng, Minxiang; Shah, Smit A; Huang, Dali; Parviz, Dorsa; Yu, Yi-Hsien; Wang, Xuezhen; Green, Micah J; Cheng, Zhengdong

    2017-09-13

    We investigate the π-π stacking of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with graphene surfaces, showing that such interactions are general across a wide range of PAH sizes and species, including graphene quantum dots. We synthesized a series of graphene quantum dots with sulfonyl, amino, and carboxylic functional groups and employed them to exfoliate and disperse pristine graphene in water. We observed that sulfonyl-functionalized graphene quantum dots were able to stabilize the highest concentration of graphene in comparison to other functional groups; this is consistent with prior findings by pyrene. The graphene nanosheets prepared showed excellent colloidal stability, indicating great potential for applications in electronics, solar cells, and photonic displays which was demonstrated in this work.

  18. Neutron diffraction studies of amphipathic helices in phospholipid bilayers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bradshaw, J.P.; Gilchrist, P.J.; Duff, K.C.

    The structural feature which is thought to facilitate the interaction of many peptides with phospholipid bilayers is the ability to fold into an amphipathic helix. In most cases the exact location and orientation of this helix with respect to the membrane is not known, and may vary with factors such as pH and phospholipid content of the bilayer. The growing interest in this area is stimulated by indications that similar interactions can contribute to the binding of certain hormones to their cell-surface receptors. We have been using the techniques of neutron diffraction from stacked phospholipid bilayers in an attempt tomore » investigate this phenomenon with a number of membrane-active peptides. Here we report some of our findings with three of these: the bee venom melittin; the hormone calcitonin; and a synthetic peptide representing the ion channel fragment of influenza A M2 protein.« less

  19. Electrochemistry at Edge of Single Graphene Layer in a Nanopore

    PubMed Central

    Banerjee, Shouvik; Shim, Jiwook; Rivera, Jose; Jin, Xiaozhong; Estrada, David; Solovyeva, Vita; You, Xiuque; Pak, James; Pop, Eric; Aluru, Narayana; Bashir, Rashid

    2013-01-01

    We study the electrochemistry of single layer graphene edges using a nanopore-based structure consisting of stacked graphene and Al2O3 dielectric layers. Nanopores, with diameters ranging from 5 to 20 nm, are formed by an electron beam sculpting process on the stacked layers. This leads to unique edge structure which, along with the atomically thin nature of the embedded graphene electrode, demonstrates electrochemical current densities as high as 1.2 × 104 A/cm2. The graphene edge embedded structure offers a unique capability to study the electrochemical exchange at an individual graphene edge, isolated from the basal plane electrochemical activity. We also report ionic current modulation in the nanopore by biasing the embedded graphene terminal with respect to the electrodes in the fluid. The high electrochemical specific current density for a graphene nanopore-based device can have many applications in sensitive chemical and biological sensing, and energy storage devices. PMID:23249127

  20. Infrared spectroscopy of wafer-scale graphene.

    PubMed

    Yan, Hugen; Xia, Fengnian; Zhu, Wenjuan; Freitag, Marcus; Dimitrakopoulos, Christos; Bol, Ageeth A; Tulevski, George; Avouris, Phaedon

    2011-12-27

    We report spectroscopy results from the mid- to far-infrared on wafer-scale graphene, grown either epitaxially on silicon carbide or by chemical vapor deposition. The free carrier absorption (Drude peak) is simultaneously obtained with the universal optical conductivity (due to interband transitions) and the wavelength at which Pauli blocking occurs due to band filling. From these, the graphene layer number, doping level, sheet resistivity, carrier mobility, and scattering rate can be inferred. The mid-IR absorption of epitaxial two-layer graphene shows a less pronounced peak at 0.37 ± 0.02 eV compared to that in exfoliated bilayer graphene. In heavily chemically doped single-layer graphene, a record high transmission reduction due to free carriers approaching 40% at 250 μm (40 cm(-1)) is measured in this atomically thin material, supporting the great potential of graphene in far-infrared and terahertz optoelectronics.

  1. Non-Abelian Parton Fractional Quantum Hall Effect in Multilayer Graphene.

    PubMed

    Wu, Ying-Hai; Shi, Tao; Jain, Jainendra K

    2017-08-09

    The current proposals for producing non-Abelian anyons and Majorana particles, which are neither fermions nor bosons, are primarily based on the realization of topological superconductivity in two dimensions. We show theoretically that the unique Landau level structure of bilayer graphene provides a new possible avenue for achieving such exotic particles. Specifically, we demonstrate the feasibility of a "parton" fractional quantum Hall (FQH) state, which supports non-Abelian particles without the usual topological superconductivity. Furthermore, we advance this state as the fundamental explanation of the puzzling 1/2 FQH effect observed in bilayer graphene [ Kim et al. Nano Lett. 2015 , 15 , 7445 ] and predict that it will also occur in trilayer graphene. We indicate experimental signatures that differentiate the parton state from other candidate non-Abelian FQH states and predict that a transverse electric field can induce a topological quantum phase transition between two distinct non-Abelian FQH states.

  2. Controlled formation of closed-edge nanopores in graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Kuang; Robertson, Alex W.; Gong, Chuncheng; Allen, Christopher S.; Xu, Qiang; Zandbergen, Henny; Grossman, Jeffrey C.; Kirkland, Angus I.; Warner, Jamie H.

    2015-07-01

    Dangling bonds at the edge of a nanopore in monolayer graphene make it susceptible to back-filling at low temperatures from atmospheric hydrocarbons, leading to potential instability for nanopore applications, such as DNA sequencing. We show that closed edge nanopores in bilayer graphene are robust to back-filling under atmospheric conditions for days. A controlled method for closed edge nanopore formation starting from monolayer graphene is reported using an in situ heating holder and electron beam irradiation within an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Tailoring of closed-edge nanopore sizes is demonstrated from 1.4-7.4 nm. These results should provide mechanisms for improving the stability of nanopores in graphene for a wide range of applications involving mass transport.Dangling bonds at the edge of a nanopore in monolayer graphene make it susceptible to back-filling at low temperatures from atmospheric hydrocarbons, leading to potential instability for nanopore applications, such as DNA sequencing. We show that closed edge nanopores in bilayer graphene are robust to back-filling under atmospheric conditions for days. A controlled method for closed edge nanopore formation starting from monolayer graphene is reported using an in situ heating holder and electron beam irradiation within an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Tailoring of closed-edge nanopore sizes is demonstrated from 1.4-7.4 nm. These results should provide mechanisms for improving the stability of nanopores in graphene for a wide range of applications involving mass transport. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Low magnification images, image processing techniques employed, modelling and simulation of closed edge nanoribbon, comprehensive AC-TEM dataset, and supporting analysis. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr02277k

  3. Reduced graphene oxide-ZnO self-assembled films: tailoring the visible light photoconductivity by the intrinsic defect states in ZnO.

    PubMed

    Kavitha, M K; Gopinath, Pramod; John, Honey

    2015-06-14

    ZnO is a wide direct bandgap semiconductor; its absorption can be tuned to the visible spectral region by controlling the intrinsic defect levels. Combining graphene with ZnO can improve its performance by photo-induced charge separation by ZnO and electronic transport through graphene. When reduced graphene oxide-ZnO is prepared by a hydrothermal method, the photophysical studies indicate that oxygen vacancy defect states are healed out by diffusion of oxygen from GO to ZnO during its reduction. Because of the passivation of oxygen vacancies, the visible light photoconductivity of the hybrid is depleted, compared to pure ZnO. In order to overcome this reduction in photocurrent, a photoelectrode is fabricated by layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly of ZnO and reduced graphene oxide. The multilayer films are fabricated by the electrostatic LBL self-assembly technique using negatively charged poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate)-reduced graphene oxide (PSS-rGO) and positively charged polyacrylamide-ZnO (PAM-ZnO) as building blocks. The multilayer films fabricated by this technique will be highly interpenetrating; it will enhance the interaction between the ZnO and rGO perpendicular to the electrode surface. Upon illumination under bias voltage defect assisted excitation occurs in ZnO and the photogenerated charge carriers can transfer to graphene. The electron transferred to graphene sheets can recombine in two ways; either it can recombine with the holes in the valence band of ZnO in its bilayer or the ZnO in the next bilayer. This type of tunnelling of electrons from graphene to the successive bilayers will result in efficient charge transfer. This transfer and propagation of electron will enhance as the number of bilayers increases, which in turn improve the photocurrent of the multilayer films. Therefore this self-assembly technique is an effective approach to fabricate semiconductor-graphene films with excellent conductivity.

  4. Strain and deformations engineered germanene bilayer double gate-field effect transistor by first principles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meher Abhinav, E.; Chandrasekaran, Gopalakrishnan; Kasmir Raja, S. V.

    2017-10-01

    Germanene, silicene, stanene, phosphorene and graphene are some of single atomic materials with novel properties. In this paper, we explored bilayer germanene-based Double Gate-Field Effect Transistor (DG-FET) with various strains and deformations using Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Green's approach by first-principle calculations. The DG-FET of 1.6 nm width, 6 nm channel length (Lch) and HfO2 as gate dielectric has been modeled. For intrinsic deformation of germanene bilayer, we have enforced minute mechanical deformation of wrap and twist (5°) and ripple (0.5 Å) on germanene bilayer channel material. By using NEGF formalism, I-V Characteristics of various strains and deformation tailored DG-FET was calculated. Our results show that rough edge and single vacancy (5-9) in bilayer germanene diminishes the current around 47% and 58% respectively as compared with pristine bilayer germanene. In case of strain tailored bilayer DG-FET, multiple NDR regions were observed which can be utilized in building stable multiple logic states in digital circuits and high frequency oscillators using negative resistive techniques.

  5. Interlayer‐State‐Coupling Dependent Ultrafast Charge Transfer in MoS2/WS2 Bilayers

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Jin; Hong, Hao; Lian, Chao; Ma, Wei; Xu, Xiaozhi; Zhou, Xu; Fu, Huixia

    2017-01-01

    Light‐induced interlayer ultrafast charge transfer in 2D heterostructures provides a new platform for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications. The charge separation process is generally hypothesized to be dependent on the interlayer stackings and interactions, however, the quantitative characteristic and detailed mechanism remain elusive. Here, a systematical study on the interlayer charge transfer in model MoS2/WS2 bilayer system with variable stacking configurations by time‐dependent density functional theory methods is demonstrated. The results show that the slight change of interlayer geometry can significantly modulate the charge transfer time from 100 fs to 1 ps scale. Detailed analysis further reveals that the transfer rate in MoS2/WS2 bilayers is governed by the electronic coupling between specific interlayer states, rather than the interlayer distances, and follows a universal dependence on the state‐coupling strength. The results establish the interlayer stacking as an effective freedom to control ultrafast charge transfer dynamics in 2D heterostructures and facilitate their future applications in optoelectronics and light harvesting. PMID:28932669

  6. SARS E protein in phospholipid bilayers: an anomalous X-ray reflectivity study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khattari, Z.; Brotons, G.; Arbely, E.; Arkin, I. T.; Metzger, T. H.; Salditt, T.

    2005-02-01

    We report on an anomalous X-ray reflectivity study to locate a labelled residue of a membrane protein with respect to the lipid bilayer. From such experiments, important constraints on the protein or peptide conformation can be derived. Specifically, our aim is to localize an iodine-labelled phenylalanine in the SARS E protein, incorporated in DMPC phospholipid bilayers, which are deposited in the form of thick multilamellar stacks on silicon surfaces. Here, we discuss the experimental aspects and the difficulties associated with the Fourier synthesis analysis that gives the electron density profile of the membranes.

  7. Examining the origins of the hydration force between lipid bilayers using all-atom simulations.

    PubMed

    Gentilcore, Anastasia N; Michaud-Agrawal, Naveen; Crozier, Paul S; Stevens, Mark J; Woolf, Thomas B

    2010-05-01

    Using 237 all-atom double bilayer simulations, we examined the thermodynamic and structural changes that occur as a phosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer stack is dehydrated. The simulated system represents a micropatch of lipid multilayer systems that are studied experimentally using surface force apparatus, atomic force microscopy and osmotic pressure studies. In these experiments, the hydration level of the system is varied, changing the separation between the bilayers, in order to understand the forces that the bilayers feel as they are brought together. These studies have found a curious, strongly repulsive force when the bilayers are very close to each other, which has been termed the "hydration force," though the origins of this force are not clearly understood. We computationally reproduce this repulsive, relatively free energy change as bilayers come together and make qualitative conclusions as to the enthalpic and entropic origins of the free energy change. This analysis is supported by data showing structural changes in the waters, lipids and salts that have also been seen in experimental work. Increases in solvent ordering as the bilayers are dehydrated are found to be essential in causing the repulsion as the bilayers come together.

  8. Graphene-supported Ag-based core-shell nanoparticles for hydrogen generation in hydrolysis of ammonia borane and methylamine borane.

    PubMed

    Yang, Lan; Luo, Wei; Cheng, Gongzhen

    2013-08-28

    Well-dispersed magnetically recyclable core-shell Ag@M (M = Co, Ni, Fe) nanoparticles (NPs) supported on graphene have been synthesized via a facile in situ one-step procedure, using methylamine borane (MeAB) as a reducing agent under ambient condition. Their catalytic activity toward hydrolysis of ammonia borane (AB) were studied. Although the Ag@Fe/graphene NPs are almost inactive, the as-prepared Ag@Co/graphene NPs are the most reactive catalysts, followed by Ag@Ni/graphene NPs. Compared with AB and NaBH4, the as-synthesized Ag@Co/graphene catalysts which reduced by MeAB exert the highest catalytic activity. Additionally, the Ag@Co NPs supported on graphene exhibit higher catalytic activity than the catalysts with other conventional supports, such as the SiO2, carbon black, and γ-Al2O3. The as-synthesized Ag@Co/graphene NPs exert satisfied catalytic activity, with the turnover frequency (TOF) value of 102.4 (mol H2 min(-1) (mol Ag)(-1)), and the activation energy Ea value of 20.03 kJ/mol. Furthermore, the as-synthesized Ag@Co/graphene NPs show good recyclability and magnetically reusability for the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB and MeAB, which make the practical reusing application of the catalysts more convenient. Moreover, this simple synthetic method indicates that MeAB could be used as not only a potential hydrogen storage material but also an efficient reducing agent. It can be easily extended to facile preparation of other graphene supported metal NPs.

  9. Moiré edge states in twisted graphene nanoribbons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fleischmann, M.; Gupta, R.; Weckbecker, D.; Landgraf, W.; Pankratov, O.; Meded, V.; Shallcross, S.

    2018-05-01

    The edge physics of graphene based systems is well known to be highly sensitive to the atomic structure at the boundary, with localized zero mode edge states found only on the zigzag-type termination of the lattice. Here we demonstrate that the graphene twist bilayer supports an additional class of edge states, that (i) are found for all edge geometries and thus are robust against edge roughness, (ii) occur at energies coinciding with twist induced Van Hove singularities in the bulk and (iii) possess an electron density strongly modulated by the moiré lattice. Interestingly, these "moiré edge states" exist only for certain lattice commensurations and thus the edge physics of the twist bilayer is, in dramatic contrast to that of the bulk, not uniquely determined by the twist angle.

  10. Temperature dependence of structure, bending rigidity, and bilayer interactions of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine bilayers.

    PubMed

    Pan, Jianjun; Tristram-Nagle, Stephanie; Kucerka, Norbert; Nagle, John F

    2008-01-01

    X-ray diffuse scattering was measured from oriented stacks and unilamellar vesicles of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine lipid bilayers to obtain the temperature dependence of the structure and of the material properties. The area/molecule, A, was 75.5 A(2) at 45 degrees C, 72.4 A(2) at 30 degrees C, and 69.1 A(2) at 15 degrees C, which gives the area expansivity alpha(A) = 0.0029/deg at 30 degrees C, and we show that this value is in excellent agreement with the polymer brush theory. The bilayer becomes thinner with increasing temperature; the contractivity of the hydrocarbon portion was alpha(Dc) = 0.0019/deg; the difference between alpha(A) and alpha(Dc) is consistent with the previously measured volume expansivity alpha(Vc) = 0.0010/deg. The bending modulus K(C) decreased as exp(455/T) with increasing T (K). Our area compressibility modulus K(A) decreased with increasing temperature by 5%, the same as the surface tension of dodecane/water, in agreement again with the polymer brush theory. Regarding interactions between bilayers, the compression modulus B as a function of interbilayer water spacing D'(W) was found to be nearly independent of temperature. The repulsive fluctuation pressure calculated from B and K(C) increased with temperature, and the Hamaker parameter for the van der Waals interaction was nearly independent of temperature; this explains why the fully hydrated water spacing, D'(W), that we obtain from our structural results increases with temperature.

  11. Charge Transport in Dual Gated Bilayer Graphene with Corbino Geometry

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-10-01

    Nacional de Grafite Ltda.) and confirmed to be BLG by Raman spectroscopy (see Supporting Information).25 Figure 1(b) shows a schematic and Figure 1(c...by cutting graphene into nanometer size ribbons.11-14 Another avenue is chemical modification of graphene, such as oxidation , hydrogenation and

  12. Sensitive electrochemical detection of dopamine with a DNA/graphene bi-layer modified carbon ionic liquid electrode.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiaofeng; You, Zheng; Sha, Hailiang; Cheng, Yong; Zhu, Huanhuan; Sun, Wei

    2014-10-01

    A DNA and graphene (GR) bi-layer modified carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE) was fabricated by an electrodeposition method. GR nanosheets were electrodeposited on the surface of CILE at the potential of -1.3 V and then DNA was further deposited at the potential of +0.5 V on GR modified CILE. Electrochemical performances of the fabricated DNA/GR/CILE were carefully investigated. Then electrochemical behaviors of dopamine (DA) on the modified electrode were studied with the calculated electrochemical parameters. Under the optimized conditions, a linear relationship between the oxidation peak current and the concentration of DA was obtained in the range from 0.1 μmol/L to 1.0 mmol/L with a detection limit of 0.027 μmol/L (3σ). The modified electrode exhibited excellent reproducibility, repeatability, stability, validation and robustness for the electrochemical detection of DA. The proposed method was further applied to the DA injection solution and human urine samples determination with satisfactory results. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Magnetoresistance effect in Fe{sub 20}Ni{sub 80}/graphene/Fe{sub 20}Ni{sub 80} vertical spin valves

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Entani, Shiro, E-mail: entani.shiro@qst.go.jp; Naramoto, Hiroshi; Sakai, Seiji

    2016-08-22

    Vertical spin valve devices with junctions of single- and bi-layer graphene interlayers sandwiched with Fe{sub 20}Ni{sub 80} (Permalloy) electrodes were fabricated by exploiting the direct growth of graphene on the Permalloy. The linear current-voltage characteristics indicated that ohmic contacts were realized at the interfaces. The systematic characterization revealed the significant modification of the electronic state of the interfacial graphene layer on the Permalloy surface, which indicates the strong interactions at the interface. The ohmic transport was attributable to the strong interface-interaction. The vertical resistivity of the graphene interlayer and the spin asymmetry coefficient at the graphene/Permalloy interface were obtained tomore » be 0.13 Ω cm and 0.06, respectively. It was found that the strong interface interaction modifies the electronic structure and metallic properties in the vertical spin valve devices with bi-layer graphene as well as single-layer graphene.« less

  14. Broadband and wide angle near-unity absorption in graphene-insulator-metal thin film stacks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, H. J.; Zheng, G. G.; Chen, Y. Y.; Xu, L. H.

    2018-05-01

    Broadband unity absorption in graphene-insulator-metal (GIM) structures is demonstrated in the visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) spectra. The spectral characteristics possess broadband absorption peaks, by simply choosing a stack of GIM, while no nanofabrication steps and patterning are required, and thus can be easily fabricated to cover a large area. The electromagnetic (EM) waves can be entirely trapped and the absorption can be greatly enhanced are verified with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) methods. The position and the number of the absorption peak can be totally controlled by adjusting the thickness of the insulator layer. The proposed absorber maintains high absorption (above 90%) for both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations, and for angles of incidence up to 80°. This work opens up a promising approach to realize perfect absorption (PA) with ultra-thin film, which could implicate many potential applications in optical detection and optoelectronic devices.

  15. Quantum and classical ripples in graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hašík, Juraj; Tosatti, Erio; MartoÅák, Roman

    2018-04-01

    Thermal ripples of graphene are well understood at room temperature, but their quantum counterparts at low temperatures are in need of a realistic quantitative description. Here we present atomistic path-integral Monte Carlo simulations of freestanding graphene, which show upon cooling a striking classical-quantum evolution of height and angular fluctuations. The crossover takes place at ever-decreasing temperatures for ever-increasing wavelengths so that a completely quantum regime is never attained. Zero-temperature quantum graphene is flatter and smoother than classical graphene at large scales yet rougher at short scales. The angular fluctuation distribution of the normals can be quantitatively described by coexistence of two Gaussians, one classical strongly T -dependent and one quantum about 2° wide, of zero-point character. The quantum evolution of ripple-induced height and angular spread should be observable in electron diffraction in graphene and other two-dimensional materials, such as MoS2, bilayer graphene, boron nitride, etc.

  16. Model of large volumetric capacitance in graphene supercapacitors based on ion clustering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Skinner, Brian; Fogler, M. M.; Shklovskii, B. I.

    2011-12-01

    Electric double-layer supercapacitors (SCs) are promising devices for high-power energy storage based on the reversible absorption of ions into porous conducting electrodes. Graphene is a particularly good candidate for the electrode material in SCs due to its high conductivity and large surface area. In this paper, we consider SC electrodes made from a stack of graphene sheets with randomly inserted spacer molecules. We show that the large volumetric capacitances C≳100F/cm3 observed experimentally can be understood as a result of collective intercalation of ions into the graphene stack and the accompanying nonlinear screening by graphene electrons that renormalizes the charge of the ion clusters.

  17. AB INITIO STUDY OF THE ELECTRONIC AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF GRAPHENE WITH AND WITHOUT ADSORPTION OF M ATOM (M = C, N, O, F, Cl)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ismail, Ali I.; Mubarak, A. A.

    We present here an ab initio study for the energetic, electronic, magnetic and optical structures of the graphene sheet with and without the adsorption of M atom (M = C, N, O, F, Cl). The calculations are preformed using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) to describe the exchange-correlation potential. The calculations show that N prefers the bridge site, while C, O, F and Cl prefer the top site above the graphene sheet. The calculated M-graphene bond length is found to be inversely proportional to the adsorption energy. The hybridization between sp-states of the graphene sheet and M adatom is determined by the analysis of the partial and local density of states (PDOS and TDOS). In case of O and F as adsorbed atoms, graphene sheets show a wide energy band-gap and some significant magnetic moments. The optical properties of the studied sheets are performed in different radiation regions using the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function. We think that the energetic, electronic, optical and magnetic properties of the M-graphene sheets are governed by two main factors; the number of unpaired valence electrons and the electronegativity of the M atom.

  18. Size of graphene sheets determines the structural and mechanical properties of 3D graphene foams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Zhiqiang; Ye, Huilin; Zhou, Chi; Kröger, Martin; Li, Ying

    2018-03-01

    Graphene is recognized as an emerging 2D nanomaterial for many applications. Assembly of graphene sheets into 3D structures is an attractive way to enable their macroscopic applications and to preserve the exceptional mechanical and physical properties of their constituents. In this study, we develop a coarse-grained (CG) model for 3D graphene foams (GFs) based on the CG model for a 2D graphene sheet by Ruiz et al (2015 Carbon 82 103-15). We find that the size of graphene sheets plays an important role in both the structural and mechanical properties of 3D GFs. When their size is smaller than 10 nm, the graphene sheets can easily stack together under the influence of van der Waals interactions (vdW). These stacks behave like building blocks and are tightly packed together within 3D GFs, leading to high density, small pore radii, and a large Young’s modulus. However, if the sheet sizes exceed 10 nm, they are staggered together with a significant amount of deformation (bending). Therefore, the density of 3D GFs has been dramatically reduced due to the loosely packed graphene sheets, accompanied by large pore radii and a small Young’s modulus. Under uniaxial compression, rubber-like stress-strain curves are observed for all 3D GFs. This material characteristic is dominated by the vdW interactions between different graphene layers and slightly affected by the out-of-plane deformation of the graphene sheets. We find a simple scaling law E˜ {ρ }4.2 between the density ρ and Young’s modulus E for a model of 3D GFs. The simulation results reveal structure-property relations of 3D GFs, which can be applied to guide the design of 3D graphene assemblies with exceptional properties.

  19. Organosilane-functionalized graphene quantum dots and their encapsulation into bi-layer hollow silica spheres for bioimaging applications.

    PubMed

    Wen, Ting; Yang, Baocheng; Guo, Yanzhen; Sun, Jing; Zhao, Chunmei; Zhang, Shouren; Zhang, Miao; Wang, Yonggang

    2014-11-14

    Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) represent an important class of luminescent quantum dots owing to their low toxicity and superior biocompatibility. Chemical functionalization of GQDs and subsequent combination with other materials further provide attractive techniques for advanced bioapplications. Herein, we report the facile fabrication of fluorescent organosilane-functionalized graphene quantum dots (Si-GQDs) and their embedding into mesoporous hollow silica spheres as a biolabel for the first time. Well-proportioned Si-GQDs with bright and excitation dependent tunable emissions in the visible region were obtained via a simple and economical solvothermal route adopting graphite oxide as a carbon source and 3-(2-aminoethylamino)-propyltrimethoxysilane as a surface modifier. The as-synthesized Si-GQDs can be well dispersed and stored in organic solvents, easily manufactured into transparent film and bulk form, and particularly provide great potential to be combined with other materials. As a proof-of-principle experiment, we demonstrate the successful incorporation of Si-GQDs into hollow mesoporous silica spheres and conduct preliminary cellular imaging experiments. Interestingly, the Si-GQDs not only serve as fluorescent chromophores in the composite material, but also play a crucial role in the formation of mesoporous hollow silica spheres with a distinctive bi-layer architecture. The layer thickness and optical properties can be precisely controlled by simply adjusting the silane coupling agent addition procedure in the preparation process. Our demonstration of low-cost Si-GQDs and their encapsulation into multifunctional composites may expand the applications of carbon-based nanomaterials for future biomedical imaging and other optoelectronic applications.

  20. Fully ab initio calculation of the resonant one-phonon Raman intensity of graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reichardt, Sven; Wirtz, Ludger

    We developed a fully ab initio, many-body perturbation theory approach for the calculation of resonant, one-phonon Raman spectra. Our general approach is applicable to any material and here we present its application to the case of graphene. Our diagrammatic, first-principles approach allows us to go beyond and improve on an earlier theoretical study by Basko, which relied on an analytical calculation in certain limits. We investigate the dependence of the G peak intensity on both the excitation energy and Fermi level. Furthermore, our method allows us to identify the relevant electronic quantum pathways and to demonstrate the importance of the contributions from non-resonant electronic transitions. We also applied our approach to the calculation of the resonant one-phonon Raman spectrum of MoS2, with our results being in good agreement with experimental data. SR acknowledges financial support from the National Research Fund (FNR) Luxembourg.

  1. Spin and charge transport across cobalt/graphene interfaces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chshiev, Mairbek; Kalitsov, Alan; Mryasov, Oleg

    We report ballistic calculations of in-plane and out-of-plane spin and charge transport through graphene attached to the hcp-Co electrodes. Our calculations are based on the Keldysh non-equilibrium Green Function formalism and the tight binding Hamiltonian model tailored to treat both lateral and vertical device configurations. We present results for (i) vertical device that consists of a one-side fluorinated C4F graphene sandwiched between two hcp Co electrodes and (ii) lateral device consisting of pristine graphene/C4F graphene bilayer with two top hcp-Co electrodes Our calculations predict large magnetoresistance with small resistance-area product and significant deviation from sinusoidal behavior of spin transfer torque for the vertical device configuration.

  2. Graphene-coated materials using silica particles as a framework for highly efficient removal of aromatic pollutants in water

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Kaijie; Chen, Baoliang; Zhu, Lizhong

    2015-01-01

    The substantial aggregation of pristine graphene nanosheets decreases its powerful adsorption capacity and diminishes its practical applications. To overcome this shortcoming, graphene-coated materials (GCMs) were prepared by loading graphene onto silica nanoparticles (SiO2). With the support of SiO2, the stacked interlamination of graphene was held open to expose the powerful adsorption sites in the interlayers. The adsorption of phenanthrene, a model aromatic pollutant, onto the loaded graphene nanosheets increased up to 100 fold compared with pristine graphene at the same level. The adsorption of GCMs increased with the loading amount of the graphene nanosheets and dramatically decreased with the introduction of oxygen-containing groups in the graphene nanosheets. The highly hydrophobic effect and the strong π-π stacking interactions of the exposed graphene nanosheets contributed to their superior adsorption of GCMs. An unusual GCM peak adsorption coefficient (Kd) was observed with the increase in sorbate concentration. The sorbate concentration at peak Kd shifted to lower values for the reduced graphene oxide and graphene relative to the graphene oxide. Therefore, the replacement of water nanodroplets attached to the graphene nanosheets through weak non-hydrogen bonding with phenanthrene molecules via strong π-π stacking interactions is hypothesized to be an additional adsorption mechanism for GCMs. PMID:26119007

  3. Graphene-coated materials using silica particles as a framework for highly efficient removal of aromatic pollutants in water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Kaijie; Chen, Baoliang; Zhu, Lizhong

    2015-06-01

    The substantial aggregation of pristine graphene nanosheets decreases its powerful adsorption capacity and diminishes its practical applications. To overcome this shortcoming, graphene-coated materials (GCMs) were prepared by loading graphene onto silica nanoparticles (SiO2). With the support of SiO2, the stacked interlamination of graphene was held open to expose the powerful adsorption sites in the interlayers. The adsorption of phenanthrene, a model aromatic pollutant, onto the loaded graphene nanosheets increased up to 100 fold compared with pristine graphene at the same level. The adsorption of GCMs increased with the loading amount of the graphene nanosheets and dramatically decreased with the introduction of oxygen-containing groups in the graphene nanosheets. The highly hydrophobic effect and the strong π-π stacking interactions of the exposed graphene nanosheets contributed to their superior adsorption of GCMs. An unusual GCM peak adsorption coefficient (Kd) was observed with the increase in sorbate concentration. The sorbate concentration at peak Kd shifted to lower values for the reduced graphene oxide and graphene relative to the graphene oxide. Therefore, the replacement of water nanodroplets attached to the graphene nanosheets through weak non-hydrogen bonding with phenanthrene molecules via strong π-π stacking interactions is hypothesized to be an additional adsorption mechanism for GCMs.

  4. Graphene-coated materials using silica particles as a framework for highly efficient removal of aromatic pollutants in water.

    PubMed

    Yang, Kaijie; Chen, Baoliang; Zhu, Lizhong

    2015-06-29

    The substantial aggregation of pristine graphene nanosheets decreases its powerful adsorption capacity and diminishes its practical applications. To overcome this shortcoming, graphene-coated materials (GCMs) were prepared by loading graphene onto silica nanoparticles (SiO2). With the support of SiO2, the stacked interlamination of graphene was held open to expose the powerful adsorption sites in the interlayers. The adsorption of phenanthrene, a model aromatic pollutant, onto the loaded graphene nanosheets increased up to 100 fold compared with pristine graphene at the same level. The adsorption of GCMs increased with the loading amount of the graphene nanosheets and dramatically decreased with the introduction of oxygen-containing groups in the graphene nanosheets. The highly hydrophobic effect and the strong π-π stacking interactions of the exposed graphene nanosheets contributed to their superior adsorption of GCMs. An unusual GCM peak adsorption coefficient (Kd) was observed with the increase in sorbate concentration. The sorbate concentration at peak Kd shifted to lower values for the reduced graphene oxide and graphene relative to the graphene oxide. Therefore, the replacement of water nanodroplets attached to the graphene nanosheets through weak non-hydrogen bonding with phenanthrene molecules via strong π-π stacking interactions is hypothesized to be an additional adsorption mechanism for GCMs.

  5. Raman enhancement by graphene-Ga2O3 2D bilayer film

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    2D β-Ga2O3 flakes on a continuous 2D graphene film were prepared by a one-step chemical vapor deposition on liquid gallium surface. The composite was characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The experimental results indicate that Ga2O3 flakes grew on the surface of graphene film during the cooling process. In particular, tenfold enhancement of graphene Raman scattering signal was detected on Ga2O3 flakes, and XPS indicates the C-O bonding between graphene and Ga2O3. The mechanism of Raman enhancement was discussed. The 2D Ga2O3-2D graphene structure may possess potential applications. PMID:24472433

  6. Raman enhancement by graphene-Ga2O3 2D bilayer film.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Yun; Yu, Qing-Kai; Ding, Gu-Qiao; Xu, Xu-Guang; Wu, Tian-Ru; Gong, Qian; Yuan, Ning-Yi; Ding, Jian-Ning; Wang, Shu-Min; Xie, Xiao-Ming; Jiang, Mian-Heng

    2014-01-28

    2D β-Ga2O3 flakes on a continuous 2D graphene film were prepared by a one-step chemical vapor deposition on liquid gallium surface. The composite was characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The experimental results indicate that Ga2O3 flakes grew on the surface of graphene film during the cooling process. In particular, tenfold enhancement of graphene Raman scattering signal was detected on Ga2O3 flakes, and XPS indicates the C-O bonding between graphene and Ga2O3. The mechanism of Raman enhancement was discussed. The 2D Ga2O3-2D graphene structure may possess potential applications.

  7. Self-assembled lipid bilayer materials

    DOEpatents

    Sasaki, Darryl Y.; Waggoner, Tina A.; Last, Julie A.

    2005-11-08

    The present invention is a self-assembling material comprised of stacks of lipid bilayers formed in a columnar structure, where the assembly process is mediated and regulated by chemical recognition events. The material, through the chemical recognition interactions, has a self-regulating system that corrects the radial size of the assembly creating a uniform diameter throughout most of the structure. The materials form and are stable in aqueous solution. These materials are useful as structural elements for the architecture of materials and components in nanotechnology, efficient light harvesting systems for optical sensing, chemical processing centers, and drug delivery vehicles.

  8. Strongly anisotropic spin relaxation in graphene-transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures at room temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Benítez, L. Antonio; Sierra, Juan F.; Savero Torres, Williams; Arrighi, Aloïs; Bonell, Frédéric; Costache, Marius V.; Valenzuela, Sergio O.

    2018-03-01

    A large enhancement in the spin-orbit coupling of graphene has been predicted when interfacing it with semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides. Signatures of such an enhancement have been reported, but the nature of the spin relaxation in these systems remains unknown. Here, we unambiguously demonstrate anisotropic spin dynamics in bilayer heterostructures comprising graphene and tungsten or molybdenum disulphide (WS2, MoS2). We observe that the spin lifetime varies over one order of magnitude depending on the spin orientation, being largest when the spins point out of the graphene plane. This indicates that the strong spin-valley coupling in the transition metal dichalcogenide is imprinted in the bilayer and felt by the propagating spins. These findings provide a rich platform to explore coupled spin-valley phenomena and offer novel spin manipulation strategies based on spin relaxation anisotropy in two-dimensional materials.

  9. A model of large volumetric capacitance in graphene supercapacitors based on ion clustering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Skinner, Brian; Fogler, Michael; Shklovskii, Boris

    2012-02-01

    Electric double layer supercapacitors are promising devices for high-power energy storage based on the reversible absorption of ions into porous, conducting electrodes. Graphene is a particularly good candidate for the electrode material in supercapacitors due to its high conductivity and large surface area. In this paper we consider supercapacitor electrodes made from a stack of graphene sheets with randomly-inserted ``spacer" molecules. We show that the large volumetric capacitances C > 100 F/cm^3 observed experimentally can be understood as a result of collective intercalation of ions into the graphene stack and the accompanying nonlinear screening by graphene electrons that renormalizes the charge of the ion clusters.

  10. Quasi-particle spectrum in trilayer graphene: Role of onsite coulomb interaction and interlayer coupling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, Sanjay; Ajay

    2015-01-01

    Stacking dependent quasi-particle spectrum and density of states (DOS) in trilayer (ABC-, ABA- and AAA-stacked) graphene are analyzed using mean-field Green's function equations of motion method. Interlayer coupling (t1) is found to be responsible for the splitting of quasi-particle peaks in each stacking order. Coulomb interaction suppresses the trilayer splitting and generates a finite gap at Fermi level in ABC- while a tiny gap in ABA-stacked trilayer graphene. Influence of t⊥ is prominent for AAA-stacking as compared to ABC- and ABA-stacking orders. The theoretically obtained quasi-particle energies and DOS has been viewed in terms of recent angle resolved photoemission spectroscopic (ARPES) and scanning tunneling microscopic (STM) data available on these systems.

  11. Tuning electronic properties by oxidation-reduction reactions at graphene-ruthenium interface

    DOE PAGES

    Kandyba, Viktor; Al-Mahboob, Abdullah; Giampietri, Alessio; ...

    2018-06-06

    Mass production of graphene is associated with the growth on catalysts used also in other chemical reactions. In this study, we exploit the oxidation-reduction to tailor the properties of single layer graphene domains with incorporated bi-layer patches on ruthenium. Using photoelectron spectromicroscopy techniques, we find that oxygen, intercalating under single layer and making it p-doped by the formation of Ru-O x, does not intercalate under the bilayer patches with n-doped upper layer, but decorates them under single layer surrounding creating lateral p-n junctions with chemical potential difference of 1.2 eV. O-reduction by thermal treatment in vacuum results in C-vacancy defectsmore » enhancing electronic coupling of remained graphene to Ru, whereas in H 2, vacancy formation is suppressed. Also, for the domains below 15–25 μm size, after O-reduction in H 2, graphene/Ru coupling is restored, while wrinkle pattern produced by O-intercalation is irreversible and can trap reaction products between the wrinkles and Ru surface step edges. In fact, in certain regions of bigger domains, the products, containing H 2O and/or its fragments, remain at the interface, making graphene decoupled and undoped.« less

  12. Parametric Investigation of the Isothermal Kinetics of Growth of Graphene on a Nickel Catalyst in the Process of Chemical Vapor Deposition of Hydrocarbons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Futko, S. I.; Shulitskii, B. G.; Labunov, V. A.; Ermolaeva, E. M.

    2016-11-01

    A kinetic model of isothermal synthesis of multilayer graphene on the surface of a nickel foil in the process of chemical vapor deposition, on it, of hydrocarbons supplied in the pulsed regime is considered. The dependences of the number of graphene layers formed and the time of their growth on the temperature of the process, the concentration of acetylene, and the thickness of the nickel foil were calculated. The regime parameters of the process of chemical vapor deposition, at which single-layer graphene and bi-layer graphene are formed, were determined. The dynamics of growth of graphene domains at chemical-vapor-deposition parameters changing in wide ranges was investigated. It is shown that the time dependences of the rates of growth of single-layer graphene and bi-layer graphene are nonlinear in character and that they are determined by the kinetics of nucleation and growth of graphene and the diffusion flow of carbon atoms in the nickel foil.

  13. Fabrication of graphene/titanium carbide nanorod arrays for chemical sensor application.

    PubMed

    Fu, Chong; Li, Mingji; Li, Hongji; Li, Cuiping; Qu, Changqing; Yang, Baohe

    2017-03-01

    Vertically stacked graphene nanosheet/titanium carbide nanorod array/titanium (graphene/TiC nanorod array) wires were fabricated using a direct current arc plasma jet chemical vapor deposition (DC arc plasma jet CVD) method. The graphene/TiC nanorod arrays were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The TiO 2 nanotube array was reduced to the TiC nanorod array, and using those TiC nanorods as nucleation sites, the vertical graphene layer was formed on the TiC nanorod surface. The multi-target response mechanisms of the graphene/TiC nanorod array were investigated for ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA), uric acid (UA), and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). The vertically stacked graphene sheets facilitated the electron transfer and reactant transport with a unique porous surface, high surface area, and high electron transport network of CVD graphene sheets. The TiC nanorod array facilitated the electron transfer and firmly held the graphene layer. Thus, the graphene/TiC nanorod arrays could simultaneously respond to trace biomarkers and antihypertensive drugs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Topological magnetic phase in LaMnO3 (111) bilayer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weng, Yakui; Huang, Xin; Yao, Yugui; Dong, Shuai

    2015-11-01

    Candidates for correlated topological insulators, originated from the spin-orbit coupling as well as the Hubbard-type correlation, are expected in the (111) bilayer of perovskite-structural transition-metal oxides. Based on the first-principles calculation and tight-binding model, the electronic structure of a LaMnO3 (111) bilayer sandwiched in LaScO3 barriers has been investigated. For the ideal undistorted perovskite structure, the Fermi energy of LaMnO3 (111) bilayer just stays at the Dirac point, rendering a semimetal (graphenelike) which is also a half metal [different from graphene or the previously studied LaNiO3 (111) bilayer]. The Dirac cone can be opened by the spin-orbit coupling, giving rise to nontrivial topological bands corresponding to the (quantized) anomalous Hall effect. For the realistic orthorhombic distorted lattice, the Dirac point moves with increasing Hubbard repulsion (or equivalent Jahn-Teller distortion). Finally, a Mott gap opens, establishing a phase boundary between the Mott insulator and topological magnetic insulator. Our calculation finds that the gap opened by spin-orbit coupling is much smaller in the orthorhombic distorted lattice (˜1.7 meV) than the undistorted one (˜11 meV). Therefore, to suppress the lattice distortion can be helpful to enhance the robustness of the topological phase in perovskite (111) bilayers.

  15. Stacking fault energy of face-centered cubic metals: thermodynamic and ab initio approaches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Ruihuan; Lu, Song; Kim, Dongyoo; Schönecker, Stephan; Zhao, Jijun; Kwon, Se Kyun; Vitos, Levente

    2016-10-01

    The formation energy of the interface between face-centered cubic (fcc) and hexagonal close packed (hcp) structures is a key parameter in determining the stacking fault energy (SFE) of fcc metals and alloys using thermodynamic calculations. It is often assumed that the contribution of the planar fault energy to the SFE has the same order of magnitude as the bulk part, and thus the lack of precise information about it can become the limiting factor in thermodynamic predictions. Here, we differentiate between the interfacial energy for the coherent fcc(1 1 1)/hcp(0 0 0 1) interface and the ‘pseudo-interfacial energy’ that enters the thermodynamic expression for the SFE. Using first-principles calculations, we determine the coherent and pseudo-interfacial energies for six elemental metals (Al, Ni, Cu, Ag, Pt, and Au) and three paramagnetic Fe-Cr-Ni alloys. Our results show that the two interfacial energies significantly differ from each other. We observe a strong chemistry dependence for both interfacial energies. The calculated pseudo-interfacial energies for the Fe-Cr-Ni steels agree well with the available literature data. We discuss the effects of strain on the description of planar faults via thermodynamic and ab initio approaches.

  16. Stacking fault energy of face-centered cubic metals: thermodynamic and ab initio approaches.

    PubMed

    Li, Ruihuan; Lu, Song; Kim, Dongyoo; Schönecker, Stephan; Zhao, Jijun; Kwon, Se Kyun; Vitos, Levente

    2016-10-05

    The formation energy of the interface between face-centered cubic (fcc) and hexagonal close packed (hcp) structures is a key parameter in determining the stacking fault energy (SFE) of fcc metals and alloys using thermodynamic calculations. It is often assumed that the contribution of the planar fault energy to the SFE has the same order of magnitude as the bulk part, and thus the lack of precise information about it can become the limiting factor in thermodynamic predictions. Here, we differentiate between the interfacial energy for the coherent fcc(1 1 1)/hcp(0 0 0 1) interface and the 'pseudo-interfacial energy' that enters the thermodynamic expression for the SFE. Using first-principles calculations, we determine the coherent and pseudo-interfacial energies for six elemental metals (Al, Ni, Cu, Ag, Pt, and Au) and three paramagnetic Fe-Cr-Ni alloys. Our results show that the two interfacial energies significantly differ from each other. We observe a strong chemistry dependence for both interfacial energies. The calculated pseudo-interfacial energies for the Fe-Cr-Ni steels agree well with the available literature data. We discuss the effects of strain on the description of planar faults via thermodynamic and ab initio approaches.

  17. Homoepitaxial graphene tunnel barriers for spin transport

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Friedman, Adam L.; van't Erve, Olaf M. J.; Robinson, Jeremy T.; Whitener, Keith E.; Jonker, Berend T.

    2016-05-01

    Tunnel barriers are key elements for both charge-and spin-based electronics, offering devices with reduced power consumption and new paradigms for information processing. Such devices require mating dissimilar materials, raising issues of heteroepitaxy, interface stability, and electronic states that severely complicate fabrication and compromise performance. Graphene is the perfect tunnel barrier. It is an insulator out-of-plane, possesses a defect-free, linear habit, and is impervious to interdiffusion. Nonetheless, true tunneling between two stacked graphene layers is not possible in environmental conditions usable for electronics applications. However, two stacked graphene layers can be decoupled using chemical functionalization. Here, we demonstrate that hydrogenation or fluorination of graphene can be used to create a tunnel barrier. We demonstrate successful tunneling by measuring non-linear IV curves and a weakly temperature dependent zero-bias resistance. We demonstrate lateral transport of spin currents in non-local spin-valve structures, and determine spin lifetimes with the non-local Hanle effect. We compare the results for hydrogenated and fluorinated tunnel and we discuss the possibility that ferromagnetic moments in the hydrogenated graphene tunnel barrier affect the spin transport of our devices.

  18. SERS substrate based on silver nanoparticles and graphene: Dependence on the layer number of graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garg, Preeti; Soni, R. K.; Raman, R.

    2018-05-01

    In this report, we describe a low-cost fabrication process for highly sensitive SERS substrate by using thermal evaporation technique. The SERS substrate structure consists of silver nanoparticles deposited on monolayer, bilayer and few layer graphene. The fabricated SERS substrates are investigated by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), and confocal Raman spectroscope. From the surface morphology we have verified that the fabricated SERS substrate consist of high-density of silver nanoparticles with their size distribution varies from 10 to 150 nm. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering activities of these nanostructures is highest for monolayer graphene.

  19. Fabrication of a white electroluminescent device based on bilayered yellow and blue quantum dots

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Jong-Hoon; Lee, Ki-Heon; Kang, Hee-Don; Park, Byoungnam; Hwang, Jun Yeon; Jang, Ho Seong; Do, Young Rag; Yang, Heesun

    2015-03-01

    Until now most work on colloidal quantum dot-light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) has been focused on the improvement of the electroluminescent (EL) performance of monochromatic devices, and multi-colored white QLEDs comprising more than one type of QD emitter have been rarely investigated. To demonstrate a white EL as a result of color mixing between blue and yellow, herein a unique combination of two dissimilar QDs of blue- CdZnS/ZnS plus a yellow-emitting Cu-In-S (CIS)/ZnS is used for the formation of the emitting layer (EML) of a multilayered QLED. First, the QLED consisting of a single EML randomly mixed with two QDs is fabricated, however, its EL is dominated by blue emission with the contribution of yellow emission substantially weaker. Thus, another EML configuration is devised in the form of a QD bilayer with two stacking sequences of CdZnS/ZnS//CIS/ZnS QD and vice versa. The QLED with the former stacking sequence shows an overwhelming contribution of blue EL, similar to the mixed QD EML-based device. Upon applying the oppositely stacked QD bilayer of CIS/ZnS//CdZnS/ZnS, however, a bicolored white EL can be successfully achieved by means of the effective extension of the radiative excitonic recombination zone throughout both QD EML regions. Such QD EML configuration-dependent EL results, which are discussed primarily using the proposed device energy level diagram, strongly suggest that the positional design of individual QD emitters is a critical factor for the realization of multicolored, white emissive devices.Until now most work on colloidal quantum dot-light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) has been focused on the improvement of the electroluminescent (EL) performance of monochromatic devices, and multi-colored white QLEDs comprising more than one type of QD emitter have been rarely investigated. To demonstrate a white EL as a result of color mixing between blue and yellow, herein a unique combination of two dissimilar QDs of blue- CdZnS/ZnS plus a yellow-emitting Cu

  20. Resistivity of Rotated Graphite-Graphene Contacts.

    PubMed

    Chari, Tarun; Ribeiro-Palau, Rebeca; Dean, Cory R; Shepard, Kenneth

    2016-07-13

    Robust electrical contact of bulk conductors to two-dimensional (2D) material, such as graphene, is critical to the use of these 2D materials in practical electronic devices. Typical metallic contacts to graphene, whether edge or areal, yield a resistivity of no better than 100 Ω μm but are typically >10 kΩ μm. In this Letter, we employ single-crystal graphite for the bulk contact to graphene instead of conventional metals. The graphite contacts exhibit a transfer length up to four-times longer than in conventional metallic contacts. Furthermore, we are able to drive the contact resistivity to as little as 6.6 Ω μm(2) by tuning the relative orientation of the graphite and graphene crystals. We find that the contact resistivity exhibits a 60° periodicity corresponding to crystal symmetry with additional sharp decreases around 22° and 39°, which are among the commensurate angles of twisted bilayer graphene.

  1. Sunlight-driven eco-friendly smart curtain based on infrared responsive graphene oxide-polymer photoactuators.

    PubMed

    Leeladhar; Raturi, Parul; Singh, J P

    2018-02-27

    Photomechanical actuation is the conversion of light energy into mechanical energy through some smart materials. Infrared-responsive smart materials have become an emerging field of research due to easy availability and eco-friendly nature of their stimulus in the form of sunlight, which contains about 50% of near-infrared(nIR) making these materials useful at macro-scale photoactuator applications. Here, we demonstrate fabrication of highly versatile nIR triggered photoactuators based on graphene oxide/polycarbonate bilayers that offers fast, low-cost fabrication, large deflection, reversible actuation and wavelength-selective response. The photoactuators are realized by vacuum filtration of graphene oxide/water dispersion through polycarbonate membrane resulting graphene oxide/polymer bilayer structure. The photoactuation response was measured in the form of deflection from equilibrium position as a result of infrared-irradiation. The deflection is caused by the generated thermal stress at the interface of bilayers due to mismatch of thermal expansion coefficient as a results of nIR absorption by graphene oxide and subsequent temperature rise. A maximum deflection of 12 mm (circular-shaped structure with diameter 28 mm) with corresponding bending curvature of 0.33 cm -1 was shown by this photoactuator for illumination intensity of 106 mW/cm 2 . Few applications of these photoactuators such as sunlight-driven smart curtain, infrared actuated curtain and self-folding box are also demonstrated.

  2. Rebar Graphene

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    As the cylindrical sp2-bonded carbon allotrope, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely used to reinforce bulk materials such as polymers, ceramics, and metals. However, both the concept demonstration and the fundamental understanding on how 1D CNTs reinforce atomically thin 2D layered materials, such as graphene, are still absent. Here, we demonstrate the successful synthesis of CNT-toughened graphene by simply annealing functionalized CNTs on Cu foils without needing to introduce extraneous carbon sources. The CNTs act as reinforcing bar (rebar), toughening the graphene through both π–π stacking domains and covalent bonding where the CNTs partially unzip and form a seamless 2D conjoined hybrid as revealed by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy analysis. This is termed rebar graphene. Rebar graphene can be free-standing on water and transferred onto target substrates without needing a polymer-coating due to the rebar effects of the CNTs. The utility of rebar graphene sheets as flexible all-carbon transparent electrodes is demonstrated. The in-plane marriage of 1D nanotubes and 2D layered materials might herald an electrical and mechanical union that extends beyond carbon chemistry. PMID:24694285

  3. Landau quantization of Dirac fermions in graphene and its multilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yin, Long-Jing; Bai, Ke-Ke; Wang, Wen-Xiao; Li, Si-Yu; Zhang, Yu; He, Lin

    2017-08-01

    When electrons are confined in a two-dimensional (2D) system, typical quantum-mechanical phenomena such as Landau quantization can be detected. Graphene systems, including the single atomic layer and few-layer stacked crystals, are ideal 2D materials for studying a variety of quantum-mechanical problems. In this article, we review the experimental progress in the unusual Landau quantized behaviors of Dirac fermions in monolayer and multilayer graphene by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). Through STS measurement of the strong magnetic fields, distinct Landau-level spectra and rich level-splitting phenomena are observed in different graphene layers. These unique properties provide an effective method for identifying the number of layers, as well as the stacking orders, and investigating the fundamentally physical phenomena of graphene. Moreover, in the presence of a strain and charged defects, the Landau quantization of graphene can be significantly modified, leading to unusual spectroscopic and electronic properties.

  4. Theoretical study on strain induced variations in electronic properties of 2H-MoS{sub 2} bilayer sheets

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dong, Liang; Dongare, Avinash M., E-mail: dongare@uconn.edu; Namburu, Raju R.

    2014-02-03

    The strain dependence of the electronic properties of bilayer sheets of 2H-MoS{sub 2} is studied using ab initio simulations based on density functional theory. An indirect band gap for bilayer MoS{sub 2} is observed for all variations of strain along the basal plane. Several transitions for the indirect band gap are observed for various strains for the bilayer structure. The variation of the band gap and the carrier effective masses for the holes and the electrons for the bilayer MoS{sub 2} structure under conditions of uniaxial strain, biaxial strain, as well as uniaxial stress is investigated.

  5. Layer-by-layer self-assembled multilayer films composed of graphene/polyaniline bilayers: high-energy electrode materials for supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Sarker, Ashis K; Hong, Jong-Dal

    2012-08-28

    Multilayer assemblies of uniform ultrathin film electrodes with good electrical conductivity and very large surface areas were prepared for use as electrochemical capacitors. A layer-by-layer self-assembly approach was employed in an effort to improve the processability of highly conducting polyaniline (PANi) and chemically modified graphene. The electrochemical properties of the multilayer film (MF-) electrodes, including the sheet resistance, volumetric capacitance, and charge/discharge ratio, were determined by the morphological modification and the method used to reduce the graphene oxide (GO) to reduced graphene oxide (RGO) in the multilayer films. The PANi and GO concentrations could be modulated to control the morphology of the GO monolayer film in the multilayer assemblies. Optical ellipsometry was used to determine the thickness of the GO film in a single layer (1.32 nm), which agreed well with the literature value (~1.3 nm). Hydroiodic acid (HI), hydrazine, or pyrolysis were tested for the reduction of GO to RGO. HI was found to be the most efficient technique for reducing the GO to RGO in the multilayer assemblies while minimizing damage to the virgin state of the acid-doped PANi. Ultimately, the MF-electrode, which could be optimized by fine-tuning the nanostructure and selecting a suitable reduction method, exhibited an excellent volumetric capacitance, good cycling stability, and a rapid charge/discharge rate, which are required for supercapacitors. A MF-electrode composed of 15 PANi/RGO bilayers yielded a volumetric capacitance of 584 F/cm(3) at a current density of 3.0 A/cm(3). Although this value decreased exponentially as the current density increased, approaching a value of 170 F/cm(3) at 100 A/cm(3), this volumetric capacitance is one of the best yet reported for the other carbon-based materials. The intriguing features of the MF-electrodes composed of PANi/RGO multilayer films offer a new microdimensional design for high energy storage devices

  6. Graphene-graphite oxide field-effect transistors.

    PubMed

    Standley, Brian; Mendez, Anthony; Schmidgall, Emma; Bockrath, Marc

    2012-03-14

    Graphene's high mobility and two-dimensional nature make it an attractive material for field-effect transistors. Previous efforts in this area have used bulk gate dielectric materials such as SiO(2) or HfO(2). In contrast, we have studied the use of an ultrathin layered material, graphene's insulating analogue, graphite oxide. We have fabricated transistors comprising single or bilayer graphene channels, graphite oxide gate insulators, and metal top-gates. The graphite oxide layers show relatively minimal leakage at room temperature. The breakdown electric field of graphite oxide was found to be comparable to SiO(2), typically ~1-3 × 10(8) V/m, while its dielectric constant is slightly higher, κ ≈ 4.3. © 2012 American Chemical Society

  7. Microwave Hydrothermal Synthesis of Reduced Graphene Oxide: Effects of Microwave Power and Irradiation Time

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Agusu, La; Ode Ahmad, La; Anggara, Desna; Alimin; Mitsudo, Seitaro; Fujii, Yutaka; Kikuchi, Hiromitsu

    2018-04-01

    Reduced graphene oxide has been synthesihzed by one-pot microwave assisted hydrothermal method. Effects of microwave power and irradiation time to its crystal structure and electrical conductivity were investigated. Here, graphene oxide, firstly, were synthesized by modified hummers method and subsequently mixed with Zn as a reducing agent. Then it was transferred to modified domestic microwave oven (800 watts) with glass distiller equipment for completely reduction process. Three different power levels (240, 400, 630 watts) and two cases of irradiation times (20 and 40 minutes) were treated. XRD study shows that irradiation time variation is more effective than the variation of power level. Power level of 270 watts and for 40 minutes microwave irradiation are enough for producing estimated bilayer rGO with graphene interlayer of ~0.4 nm. Bilayer graphene and water molecule (~0.3 nm) may vibrate the same manner and perhaps they are accepting the same temperature. Graphene seems to be re-arranged in unspecified way among the thermal pressure, temperature gradient and/or water surface tension between graphene and water induced by microwave, in order to achieve thermal equilibrium through out the system The electrical conductivity rGO/PVA (60/40 %w) paper are ranging from 15.6 to 43.4 mS/cm.

  8. Ultratransparent and stretchable graphene electrodes

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Nan; Chortos, Alex; Lei, Ting; Jin, Lihua; Kim, Taeho Roy; Bae, Won-Gyu; Zhu, Chenxin; Wang, Sihong; Pfattner, Raphael; Chen, Xiyuan; Sinclair, Robert; Bao, Zhenan

    2017-01-01

    Two-dimensional materials, such as graphene, are attractive for both conventional semiconductor applications and nascent applications in flexible electronics. However, the high tensile strength of graphene results in fracturing at low strain, making it challenging to take advantage of its extraordinary electronic properties in stretchable electronics. To enable excellent strain-dependent performance of transparent graphene conductors, we created graphene nanoscrolls in between stacked graphene layers, referred to as multilayer graphene/graphene scrolls (MGGs). Under strain, some scrolls bridged the fragmented domains of graphene to maintain a percolating network that enabled excellent conductivity at high strains. Trilayer MGGs supported on elastomers retained 65% of their original conductance at 100% strain, which is perpendicular to the direction of current flow, whereas trilayer films of graphene without nanoscrolls retained only 25% of their starting conductance. A stretchable all-carbon transistor fabricated using MGGs as electrodes exhibited a transmittance of >90% and retained 60% of its original current output at 120% strain (parallel to the direction of charge transport). These highly stretchable and transparent all-carbon transistors could enable sophisticated stretchable optoelectronics. PMID:28913422

  9. Ab initio molecular dynamics of atomic-scale surface reactions: insights into metal organic chemical vapor deposition of AlN on graphene.

    PubMed

    Sangiovanni, D G; Gueorguiev, G K; Kakanakova-Georgieva, A

    2018-06-19

    Metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) of group III nitrides on graphene heterostructures offers new opportunities for the development of flexible optoelectronic devices and for the stabilization of conceptually-new two-dimensional materials. However, the MOCVD of group III nitrides is regulated by an intricate interplay of gas-phase and surface reactions that are beyond the resolution of experimental techniques. We use density-functional ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) with van der Waals corrections to identify atomistic pathways and associated electronic mechanisms driving precursor/surface reactions during metal organic vapor phase epitaxy at elevated temperatures of aluminum nitride on graphene, considered here as model case study. The results presented provide plausible interpretations of atomistic and electronic processes responsible for delivery of Al, C adatoms, and C-Al, CHx, AlNH2 admolecules on pristine graphene via precursor/surface reactions. In addition, the simulations reveal C adatom permeation across defect-free graphene, as well as exchange of C monomers with graphene carbon atoms, for which we obtain rates of ∼0.3 THz at typical experimental temperatures (1500 K), and extract activation energies Eexca = 0.28 ± 0.13 eV and attempt frequencies Aexc = 2.1 (×1.7±1) THz via Arrhenius linear regression. The results demonstrate that AIMD simulations enable understanding complex precursor/surface reaction mechanisms, and thus propose AIMD to become an indispensable routine prediction-tool toward more effective exploitation of chemical precursors and better control of MOCVD processes during synthesis of functional materials.

  10. The interfacial-organized monolayer water film (MWF) induced ``two-step'' aggregation of nanographene: both in stacking and sliding assembly pathways

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lv, Wenping; Wu, Ren'an

    2013-03-01

    A computational investigation was carried out to understand the aggregation of nanoscale graphene with two typical pathways of stacking assembly and sliding assembly in water. The interfacial-organized monolayer water film (MWF) induced ``two-step'' aggregation of nanographene in both stacking and sliding assembly pathways was reported for the first time. By means of potential mean forces (PMFs) calculation, no energy barrier was observed during the sliding assembly of two graphene nanosheets, while the PMF profiles could be impacted by the contact forms of nanographene and the MWF within the interplate of two graphene nanosheets. To explore the potential physical basis of the ``hindering role'' of self-organized interfacial water, the dynamical and structural properties as well as the status of hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) for interfacial water were investigated. We found that the compact, ordered structure and abundant H-bonds of the MWF could be taken as the fundamental aspects of the ``hindering role'' of interfacial water for the hydrophobic assembly of nanographene. These findings are displaying a potential to further understand the hydrophobic assembly which mostly dominate the behaviors of nanomaterials, proteins etc. in aqueous solutions.A computational investigation was carried out to understand the aggregation of nanoscale graphene with two typical pathways of stacking assembly and sliding assembly in water. The interfacial-organized monolayer water film (MWF) induced ``two-step'' aggregation of nanographene in both stacking and sliding assembly pathways was reported for the first time. By means of potential mean forces (PMFs) calculation, no energy barrier was observed during the sliding assembly of two graphene nanosheets, while the PMF profiles could be impacted by the contact forms of nanographene and the MWF within the interplate of two graphene nanosheets. To explore the potential physical basis of the ``hindering role'' of self-organized interfacial

  11. Electrostatically confined trilayer graphene quantum dots

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mirzakhani, M.; Zarenia, M.; Vasilopoulos, P.; Peeters, F. M.

    2017-04-01

    Electrically gating of trilayer graphene (TLG) opens a band gap offering the possibility to electrically engineer TLG quantum dots. We study the energy levels of such quantum dots and investigate their dependence on a perpendicular magnetic field B and different types of stacking of the graphene layers. The dots are modeled as circular and confined by a truncated parabolic potential which can be realized by nanostructured gates or position-dependent doping. The energy spectra exhibit the intervalley symmetry EKe(m ) =-EK'h(m ) for the electron (e ) and hole (h ) states, where m is the angular momentum quantum number and K and K ' label the two valleys. The electron and hole spectra for B =0 are twofold degenerate due to the intervalley symmetry EK(m ) =EK'[-(m +1 ) ] . For both ABC [α =1.5 (1.2) for large (small) R ] and ABA (α =1 ) stackings, the lowest-energy levels show approximately a R-α dependence on the dot radius R in contrast with the 1 /R3 one for ABC-stacked dots with infinite-mass boundary. As functions of the field B , the oscillator strengths for dipole-allowed transitions differ drastically for the two types of stackings.

  12. Interfacial exchange interactions and magnetism of Ni2MnAl /Fe bilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yanes, R.; Simon, E.; Keller, S.; Nagyfalusi, B.; Khmelevsky, S.; Szunyogh, L.; Nowak, U.

    2017-08-01

    Based on multiscale calculations combining ab initio methods with spin dynamics simulations, we perform a detailed study of the magnetic behavior of Ni2MnAl /Fe bilayers. Our simulations show that such a bilayer exhibits a small exchange bias effect when the Ni2MnAl Heusler alloy is in a disordered B2 phase. Additionally, we present an effective way to control the magnetic structure of the Ni2MnAl antiferromagnet, in the pseudo-ordered B2-I as well as the disordered B2 phases, via a spin-flop coupling to the Fe layer.

  13. Magnetic edge states in Aharonov-Bohm graphene quantum rings

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Farghadan, R., E-mail: rfarghadan@kashanu.ac.ir; Heidari Semiromi, E.; Saffarzadeh, A.

    2013-12-07

    The effect of electron-electron interaction on the electronic structure of Aharonov-Bohm (AB) graphene quantum rings (GQRs) is explored theoretically using the single-band tight-binding Hamiltonian and the mean-field Hubbard model. The electronic states and magnetic properties of hexagonal, triangular, and circular GQRs with different sizes and zigzag edge terminations are studied. The results show that, although the AB oscillations in the all types of nanoring are affected by the interaction, the spin splitting in the AB oscillations strongly depends on the geometry and the size of graphene nanorings. We found that the total spin of hexagonal and circular rings is zeromore » and therefore, no spin splitting can be observed in the AB oscillations. However, the non-zero magnetization of the triangular rings breaks the degeneracy between spin-up and spin-down electrons, which produces spin-polarized AB oscillations.« less

  14. Vertically stacked multi-heterostructures of layered materials for logic transistors and complementary inverters

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Woo Jong; Li, Zheng; Zhou, Hailong; Chen, Yu; Wang, Yang; Huang, Yu; Duan, Xiangfeng

    2014-01-01

    The layered materials such as graphene have attracted considerable interest for future electronics. Here we report the vertical integration of multi-heterostructures of layered materials to enable high current density vertical field-effect transistors (VFETs). An n-channel VFET is created by sandwiching few-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as the semiconducting channel between a monolayer graphene and a metal thin film. The VFETs exhibit a room temperature on-off ratio >103, while at same time deliver a high current density up to 5,000 A/cm2, sufficient for high performance logic applications. This study offers a general strategy for the vertical integration of various layered materials to obtain both p- and n-channel transistors for complementary logic functions. A complementary inverter with larger than unit voltage gain is demonstrated by vertically stacking the layered materials of graphene, Bi2Sr2Co2O8 (p-channel), graphene, MoS2 (n-channel), and metal thin film in sequence. The ability to simultaneously achieve high on-off ratio, high current density, and logic integration in the vertically stacked multi-heterostructures can open up a new dimension for future electronics to enable three-dimensional integration. PMID:23241535

  15. Self-assembled graphene/azo polyelectrolyte multilayer film and its application in electrochemical energy storage device.

    PubMed

    Wang, Dongrui; Wang, Xiaogong

    2011-03-01

    Graphene/azo polyelectrolyte multilayer films were fabricated through electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly, and their performance as electrochemical capacitor electrode was investigated. Cationic azo polyelectrolyte (QP4VP-co-PCN) was synthesized through radical polymerization, postpolymerization azo coupling reaction, and quaternization. Negatively charged graphene nanosheets were prepared by a chemically modified method. The LbL films were obtained by alternately dipping a piece of the pretreated substrates in the QP4VP-co-PCN and nanosheet solutions. The processes were repeated until the films with required numbers of bilayers were obtained. The self-assembly and multilayer surface morphology were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, AFM, SEM, and TEM. The performance of the LbL films as electrochemical capacitor electrode was estimated using cyclic voltammetry. Results show that the graphene nanosheets are densely packed in the multilayers and form random graphene network. The azo polyelectrolyte cohesively interacts with the nanosheets in the multilayer structure, which prevents agglomeration of graphene nanosheets. The sheet resistance of the LbL films decreases with the increase of the layer numbers and reaches the stationary value of 1.0 × 10(6) Ω/square for the film with 15 bilayers. At a scanning rate of 50 mV/s, the LbL film with 9 bilayers shows a gravimetric specific capacitance of 49 F/g in 1.0 M Na(2)SO(4) solution. The LbL films developed in this work could be a promising type of the electrode materials for electric energy storage devices.

  16. First-principles simulations of Graphene/Transition-metal-Dichalcogenides/Graphene Field-Effect Transistor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xiangguo; Wang, Yun-Peng; Zhang, X.-G.; Cheng, Hai-Ping

    A prototype field-effect transistor (FET) with fascinating properties can be made by assembling graphene and two-dimensional insulating crystals into three-dimensional stacks with atomic layer precision. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as WS2, MoS2 are good candidates for the atomically thin barrier between two layers of graphene in the vertical FET due to their sizable bandgaps. We investigate the electronic properties of the Graphene/TMDCs/Graphene sandwich structure using first-principles method. We find that the effective tunnel barrier height of the TMDC layers in contact with the graphene electrodes has a layer dependence and can be modulated by a gate voltage. Consequently a very high ON/OFF ratio can be achieved with appropriate number of TMDC layers and a suitable range of the gate voltage. The spin-orbit coupling in TMDC layers is also layer dependent but unaffected by the gate voltage. These properties can be important in future nanoelectronic device designs. DOE/BES-DE-FG02-02ER45995; NERSC.

  17. Highly Tunable Aptasensing Microarrays with Graphene Oxide Multilayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jung, Yun Kyung; Lee, Taemin; Shin, Eeseul; Kim, Byeong-Su

    2013-11-01

    A highly tunable layer-by-layer (LbL)-assembled graphene oxide (GO) array has been devised for high-throughput multiplex protein sensing. In this array, the fluorescence of different target-bound aptamers labeled with dye is efficiently quenched by GO through fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), and simultaneous multiplex target detection is performed by recovering the quenched fluorescence caused by specific binding between an aptamer and a protein. Thin GO films consisting of 10 bilayers displayed a high quenching ability, yielding over 85% fluorescence quenching with the addition of a 2 μM dye-labeled aptamer. The limit for human thrombin detection in the 6- and 10-bilayered GO array is estimated to be 0.1 and 0.001 nM, respectively, indicating highly tunable nature of LbL assembled GO multilayers in controlling the sensitivity of graphene-based FRET aptasensor. Furthermore, the GO chip could be reused up to four times simply by cleaning it with distilled water.

  18. Quantum anomalous Hall phase and half-metallic phase in ferromagnetic (111) bilayers of 4 d and 5 d transition metal perovskites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chandra, Hirak Kumar; Guo, Guang-Yu

    2017-04-01

    Extraordinary electronic phases can form in artificial oxide heterostructures, which will provide a fertile ground for new physics and also give rise to novel device functions. Based on a systematic first-principles density functional theory study of the magnetic and electronic properties of the (111) superlattices (ABO3) 2/(AB'O3)10 of 4 d and 5 d transition metal perovskite (B = Ru, Rh, Ag, Re, Os, Ir, Au; AB'O3=LaAlO3 , SrTiO3) , we demonstrate that due to quantum confinement, bilayers (LaBO3)2 (B = Ru, Re, Os) and (SrBO3)2 (B = Rh, Os, Ir) are ferromagnetic with ordering temperatures up to room temperature. In particular, bilayer (LaOsO3)2 is an exotic spin-polarized quantum anomalous Hall insulator, while the other ferromagnetic bilayers are metallic with large Hall conductances comparable to the conductance quantum. Furthermore, bilayers (LaRuO3)2 and (SrRhO3)2 are half metallic, while the bilayer (SrIrO3)2 exhibits a peculiar colossal magnetic anisotropy. Our findings thus show that 4 d and 5 d metal perovskite (111) bilayers are a class of quasi-two-dimensional materials for exploring exotic quantum phases and also for advanced applications such as low-power nanoelectronics and oxide spintronics.

  19. Structural design of graphene for use in electrochemical energy storage devices.

    PubMed

    Chen, Kunfeng; Song, Shuyan; Liu, Fei; Xue, Dongfeng

    2015-10-07

    There are many practical challenges in the use of graphene materials as active components in electrochemical energy storage devices. Graphene has a much lower capacitance than the theoretical capacitance of 550 F g(-1) for supercapacitors and 744 mA h g(-1) for lithium ion batteries. The macroporous nature of graphene limits its volumetric energy density and the low packing density of graphene-based electrodes prevents its use in commercial applications. Increases in the capacity, energy density and power density of electroactive graphene materials are strongly dependent on their microstructural properties, such as the number of defects, stacking, the use of composite materials, conductivity, the specific surface area and the packing density. The structural design of graphene electrode materials is achieved via six main strategies: the design of non-stacking and three-dimensional graphene; the synthesis of highly packed graphene; the production of graphene with a high specific surface area and high conductivity; the control of defects; functionalization with O, N, B or P heteroatoms; and the formation of graphene composites. These methodologies of structural design are needed for fast electrical charge storage/transfer and the transport of electrolyte ions (Li(+), H(+), K(+), Na(+)) in graphene electrodes. We critically review state-of-the-art progress in the optimization of the electrochemical performance of graphene-based electrode materials. The structure of graphene needs to be designed to develop novel electrochemical energy storage devices that approach the theoretical charge limit of graphene and to deliver electrical energy rapidly and efficiently.

  20. Bonding between graphene and MoS 2 monolayers without and with Li intercalation

    DOE PAGES

    Ahmed, Towfiq; Modine, N. A.; Zhu, Jian-Xin

    2015-07-27

    We performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations for a bi-layered heterostructure combining a graphene layer with a MoS 2 layer with and without intercalated Li atoms. Our calculations demonstrate the importance of the van der Waals (vdW) interaction, which is crucial for forming stable bonding between the layers. Our DFT calculation correctly reproduces the linear dispersion, or Dirac cone, feature at the Fermi energy for the isolated graphene monolayer and the band gap for the MoS 2 monolayer. For the combined graphene/MoS 2 bi-layer, we observe interesting electronic structure and density of states (DOS) characteristics near the Fermi energy, showingmore » both the gap like features of the MoS 2 layer and in-gap states with linear dispersion contributed mostly by the graphene layer. Our calculated total DOS in this vdW heterostructure reveals that the graphene layer significantly contributes to pinning the Fermi energy at the center of the band gap of MoS 2. We also find that intercalating Li ions in between the layers of the graphene/MoS2 heterostructure enhances the binding energy through orbital hybridizations between cations (Li adatoms) and anions (graphene and MoS 2 monolayers). Moreover, we calculate the dielectric function of the Li intercalated graphene/MoS 2 heterostructure, the imaginary component of which can be directly compared with experimental measurements of optical conductivity in order to validate our theoretical prediction. We observe sharp features in the imaginary component of the dielectric function, which shows the presence of a Drude peak in the optical conductivity, and therefore metallicity in the lithiated graphene/MoS 2 heterostructure.« less