Gergely Dobrik

Tailoring the atomic structure of graphene nanoribbons by scanning tunnelling microscope lithography

The practical realization of nanoscale electronics faces two major challenges: the precise engineering of the building blocks and their assembly into functional circuits. In spite of the exceptional electronic properties of carbon nanotubes, only basic demonstration devices have been realized that require time-consuming processes. This is mainly due to a lack of selective growth and reliable assembly processes for nanotubes. However, graphene offers an attractive alternative. Here we report the patterning of graphene nanoribbons and bent junctions with nanometre-precision, well-defined widths and predetermined crystallographic orientations, allowing us to fully engineer their electronic structure using scanning tunnelling microscope lithography. The atomic structure and electronic properties of the ribbons have been investigated by scanning tunnelling microscopy and tunnelling spectroscopy measurements. Opening of confinement gaps up to 0.5 eV, enabling room-temperature operation of graphene nanoribbon-based devices, is reported. This method avoids the difficulties of assembling nanoscale components and may prove useful in the realization of complete integrated circuits, operating as room-temperature ballistic electronic devices.

Tuning the electronic structure of graphene by ion irradiation

Mechanically exfoliated graphene layers deposited on

Mapping the electronic properties of individual graphene grain boundaries

{\text{SiO}}_{2}

Revealing the grain structure of graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition

substrate were irradiated with

Exfoliation of large-area transition metal chalcogenide single layers

{\text{Ar}}^{+}

Optical models for ultrathin oxides on Si- and C-terminated faces of thermally oxidized SiC

ions in order to experimentally study the effect of atomic scale defects and disorder on the low-energy electronic structure of graphene. The irradiated samples were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy measurements, which reveal that defect sites, besides acting as scattering centers for electrons through local modification of the on-site potential, also induce disorder in the hopping amplitudes. The most important consequence of the induced disorder is the substantial reduction in the Fermi velocity, revealed by bias-dependent imaging of electron-density oscillations observed near defect sites.

Highly wear-resistant and low-friction Si 3 N 4 composites by addition of graphene nanoplatelets approaching the 2D limit

Grain boundaries, the characteristic topological defects of chemical vapor deposition grown graphene samples, are expected to substantially alter the electronic properties of the unperturbed graphene lattice. However, there is very little experimental insight into the underlying mechanisms. Here, we systematically map the electronic properties of individual graphene grain boundaries by scanning tunneling microscopy and spatially resolved tunneling spectroscopy measurements. The tunneling spectroscopy data reveal that the conductivity inside the boundaries is markedly suppressed for both electron and hole-type charge carriers. Furthermore, graphene grain boundaries can give rise to n-type inversion channels within the p-doped graphene sheets, forming p-n junctions with sharp interfaces on the nanometer scale. These properties persist for grain boundaries of various configurations and are robust against structural disorder.

Spontaneous doping of the basal plane of MoS 2 single layers through oxygen substitution under ambient conditions

The physical processes occurring in the presence of disorder: point defects, grain boundaries, etc. may have detrimental effects on the electronic properties of graphene. Here we present an approach to reveal the grain structure of graphene by the selective oxidation of defects and subsequent atomic force microscopy analysis. This technique offers a quick and easy alternative to different electron microscopy and diffraction methods and may be used to give quick feedback on the quality of graphene samples grown by chemical vapor deposition.

Crystallographically oriented high resolution lithography of graphene nanoribbons by STM lithography

Isolating large-areas of atomically thin transition metal chalcogenide crystals is an important but challenging task. The mechanical exfoliation technique can provide single layers of the highest structural quality, enabling to study their pristine properties and ultimate device performance. However, a major drawback of the technique is the low yield and small (typically < 10 μm) lateral size of the produced single layers. Here, we report a novel mechanical exfoliation technique, based on chemically enhanced adhesion, yielding MoS2 single layers with typical lateral sizes of several hundreds of microns. The idea is to exploit the chemical affinity of the sulfur atoms that can bind more strongly to a gold surface than the neighboring layers of the bulk MoS2 crystal. Moreover, we found that our exfoliation process is not specific to MoS2, but can be generally applied for various layered chalcogenides including selenites and tellurides, providing an easy access to large-area 2D crystals for the whole class of layered transition metal chalcogenides.

Graphene nanoribbons with zigzag and armchair edges prepared by scanning tunneling microscope lithography on gold substrates

The thickness, refractive index, density, and interface properties of thin thermal oxides on both Si- and C-terminated 4H-SiC faces were investigated by ellipsometry using optical models of increasing complexity. We used different parametrizations of the dielectric function, a transition layer, and also investigated the multisample approach. The thickness of the transition layer increases with decreasing oxide thickness below the layer thickness of about 30nm, it correlates with the surface roughness measured by atomic force microscopy, and it was found to be significantly larger for the C-terminated than that for the Si-terminated face. For oxide layer thicknesses larger than 30nm, the refractive index of the bulk oxide layer is the same as that of thermal SiO2 on Si. We found an apparent decrease in mass density (as well as optical density) with decreasing oxide thickness using a combination of ellipsometry and backscattering spectrometry, which can be explained by the surface roughness, depending on th...