Caifu Zeng

Robust bi-stable memory operation in single-layer graphene ferroelectric memory

With the motivation of realizing an all graphene-based circuit for low power, we present a reliable nonvolatile graphene memory device, single-layer graphene (SLG) ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FFET). We demonstrate that exfoliated single-layer graphene can be optically visible on a ferroelectric lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) substrate and observe a large memory window that is nearly equivalent to the hysteresis of the PZT at low operating voltages in a graphene FFET. In comparison to exfoliated graphene, FFETs fabricated with chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene exhibit enhanced stability through a bi-stable current state operation with long retention time. In addition, we suggest that the trapping/de-trapping of charge carriers in the interface states is responsible for the anti-hysteresis behavior in graphene FFET on PZT. V C 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3619816] Graphene is considered to be an exceptional material with high potential for future electronics, owing to its excellent electronic properties; 1 linear electron energy dispersion, and high room temperature mobility. If feasible, an all graphene-based circuit, including logic, analog, and memory devices, would be of great interest to further extend the performance of current Si-based electronics. Among various device applications, graphene based memory structures are still in their infancy in comparison to its logic and analog applications. To date, graphene memory has been demonstrated through chemical modification, 2 filament-type memristor, 3 nanomechanical switch, 4 and graphene FFETs. 5‐7 In graphene FFETs, however, the ambipolar conduction leads to undesirable on/off states for memory applications. Moreover, the absence of an electronic bandgap and controlled doping makes it difficult to resolve such issues. Therefore, a systematic study of graphene FFET is beneficial to realize graphene-based memory structures. In this Letter, we investigate graphene/PZT FFET structures using exfoliated- and CVD-SLG and their mechanism of operation. We show that exfoliated SLG can be optically identified on a PZT substrate and exhibit a hysteresis of the Vshaped conductance with a large memory window at low operating gate voltages. We compare exfoliated- with CVDSLG FFETs and show that devices made of CVD-SLG exhibit a robust bi-stable current state with a long retention time. In order to construct the SLG FFET, we first engineered a ferroelectric substrate to identify SLG. Previously, we have demonstrated that SLG is invisible under the optical micro

Vertical graphene-base hot-electron transistor.

We demonstrate vertical graphene-base hot-electron transistors (GB-HETs) with a variety of structures and material parameters. Our GB-HETs exhibit a current saturation with a high current on-off ratio (>10(5)), which results from both the vertical transport of hot electrons across the ultrathin graphene base and the filtering of hot electrons through a built-in energy barrier. The influences of the materials and their thicknesses used for the tunneling and filtering barriers on the common-base current gain α are studied. The optimization of the SiO2 thickness and using HfO2 as the filtering barrier significantly improves the common-base current gain α by more than 2 orders of magnitude. The results demonstrate that GB-HETs have a great potential for high-frequency, high-speed, and high-density integrated circuits.

Effect of Spatial Charge Inhomogeneity on 1/f Noise Behavior in Graphene

Scattering mechanisms in graphene are critical to understanding the limits of signal-to-noise ratios of unsuspended graphene devices. Here we present the four-probe low-frequency noise (1/f) characteristics in back-gated single layer graphene (SLG) and bilayer graphene (BLG) samples. Contrary to the expected noise increase with the resistance, the noise for SLG decreases near the Dirac point, possibly due to the effects of the spatial charge inhomogeneity. For BLG, a similar noise reduction near the Dirac point is observed, but with a different gate dependence of its noise behavior. Some possible reasons for the different noise behavior between SLG and BLG are discussed.

Direct Measurement of Dirac Point Energy at the Graphene/Oxide Interface

We report the direct measurement of the Dirac point, the Fermi level, and the work function of graphene by performing internal photoemission measurements on a graphene/SiO(2)/Si structure with a unique optical-cavity enhanced test structure. A complete electronic band alignment at the graphene/SiO(2)/Si interfaces is accurately established. The observation of enhanced photoemission from a one-atom thick graphene layer was possible by taking advantage of the constructive optical interference in the SiO(2) cavity. The photoemission yield was found to follow the well-known linear density-of-states dispersion in the vicinity of the Dirac point. At the flat band condition, the Fermi level was extracted and found to reside 3.3 eV ± 0.05 eV below the bottom of the SiO(2) conduction band. When combined with the shift of the Fermi level from the Dirac point, we are able to ascertain the position of the Dirac point at 3.6 eV ± 0.05 eV with respect to the bottom of the SiO(2) conduction band edge, yielding a work function of 4.5 eV ± 0.05 eV which is in an excellent agreement with theory. The accurate determination of the work function of graphene is of significant importance to the engineering of graphene-based devices, and the measurement technique we have advanced in this Letter will have significant impact on numerous applications for emerging graphene-like 2-dimensional material systems.

Single-crystalline Ni2Ge/Ge/Ni2Ge nanowire heterostructure transistors

In this study, we report on the formation of a single-crystalline Ni(2)Ge/Ge/Ni(2)Ge nanowire heterostructure and its field effect characteristics by controlled reaction between a supercritical fluid-liquid-solid (SFLS) synthesized Ge nanowire and Ni metal contacts. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies reveal a wide temperature range to convert the Ge nanowire to single-crystalline Ni(2)Ge by a thermal diffusion process. The maximum current density of the fully germanide Ni(2)Ge nanowires exceeds 3.5 × 10(7) A cm(-2), and the resistivity is about 88 μΩ cm. The in situ reaction examined by TEM shows atomically sharp interfaces for the Ni(2)Ge/Ge/Ni(2)Ge heterostructure. The interface epitaxial relationships are determined to be [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. Back-gate field effect transistors (FETs) were also fabricated using this low resistivity Ni(2)Ge as source/drain contacts. Electrical measurements show a good p-type FET behavior with an on/off ratio over 10(3) and a one order of magnitude improvement in hole mobility from that of SFLS-synthesized Ge nanowire.

Quantum dot behavior in bilayer graphene nanoribbons.

Bilayer graphene has recently earned great attention for its unique electronic properties and commendable use in electronic applications. Here, we report the observation of quantum dot (QD) behaviors in bilayer graphene nanoribbons (BL-GNRs). The periodic Coulomb oscillations indicate the formation of a single quantum dot within the BL-GNR because of the broad distribution function of the carrier concentration fluctuation at the charge neutrality point. The size of the QD changes as we modulate the relative position between the Fermi level and surface potential. Furthermore, the potential barriers forming the QD remain stable at elevated temperatures and external bias. In combination with the observation of transport gaps, our results suggest that the disordered surface potential creates QDs along the ribbon and governs the electronic transport properties in BL-GNRs.

High-Current Gain Two-Dimensional MoS2-Base Hot-Electron Transistors

The vertical transport of nonequilibrium charge carriers through semiconductor heterostructures has led to milestones in electronics with the development of the hot-electron transistor. Recently, significant advances have been made with atomically sharp heterostructures implementing various two-dimensional materials. Although graphene-base hot-electron transistors show great promise for electronic switching at high frequencies, they are limited by their low current gain. Here we show that, by choosing MoS2 and HfO2 for the filter barrier interface and using a noncrystalline semiconductor such as ITO for the collector, we can achieve an unprecedentedly high-current gain (α ∼ 0.95) in our hot-electron transistors operating at room temperature. Furthermore, the current gain can be tuned over 2 orders of magnitude with the collector-base voltage albeit this feature currently presents a drawback in the transistor performance metrics such as poor output resistance and poor intrinsic voltage gain. We anticipate our transistors will pave the way toward the realization of novel flexible 2D material-based high-density, low-energy, and high-frequency hot-carrier electronic applications.

Visibility and Raman spectroscopy of mono and bilayer graphene on crystalline silicon

Experimental studies of pristine graphene devices currently rely on the fact that the graphene crystallites can be visible under optical microscopes when the underlying substrate is engineered to exhibit high contrast. Here, we present that graphene can be visualized not only on a dielectric substrate but also on a crystalline Si surface of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer (SIMOX and Bonded) with thicknesses of Si ∼70 nm and buried oxide ∼140 nm, using monochromatic illumination. In addition, we have found that Raman spectroscopy shows similar features to standard graphene on SiO2 substrates independent of the polarity of the Si surface. Finally, the Raman spectrum on SOI exhibits a higher intensity compared to that on bulk Si due to the interference enhancement effect of graphene on SOI. Thus, the usage of optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy for detecting, locating, and characterizing graphene serves as a high throughput method to further study graphene on semiconductor systems and other substrat...

Tunneling spectroscopy of metal-oxide-graphene structure

The unique density of states of graphene at the device level is probed via tunneling spectroscopy of macroscopic metal-oxide-graphene structures. Local conductance minima from electrons tunneling into the graphene Dirac point are observed in the dI/dV spectra of both the single-junction and dual-junction configurations. Nonequally-spaced Landau levels, including the hallmark n=0 level, are observed in the presence of a magnetic field. Linear energy-momentum dispersion near the Dirac point, as well as the Fermi velocity, is extracted from both experiments. Local potential fluctuations and interface defects significantly influence these fine physical features, leading to peak broadening and anomalies comparing to the results from the ultra sharp scanning tunneling microscope tip. This study provides important implications for potential tunneling-based graphene devices in the future.