Hiroki Hibino

Quantum Faraday and Kerr rotations in graphene

Graphene, a monolayer sheet of carbon atoms, exhibits intriguing electronic properties that arise from its massless Dirac dispersion of electrons. A striking example is the half-integer quantum Hall effect, which endorses the presence of Dirac cones or, equivalently, a non-zero (π) Berrys (topological) phase. It is curious how these anomalous features of Dirac electrons would affect optical properties. Here we observe the quantum magneto-optical Faraday and Kerr effects in graphene in the terahertz frequency range. Our results detect the quantum plateaus in the Faraday and Kerr rotations at precisely the quantum Hall steps that hallmark the Dirac electrons, with the rotation angle defined by the fine-structure constant. The robust quantum Hall plateaus in the optical regime, besides being conceptually interesting, may open avenues for new graphene-based optoelectronic applications.

Epitaxial few-layer graphene: towards single crystal growth

We review our research towards single-crystal growth of epitaxial few-layer graphene (FLG) on SiC substrates. We have established a method for evaluating the number of graphene layers microscopically using low-energy electron microscopy. Scanning probe microscopy in air is also useful for estimating the number-of-layers distribution in epitaxial FLG. The number-of-layers dependence of the work function and C1s binding energy is determined using photoelectron emission microscopy. We investigate the growth processes of epitaxial FLG on the basis of the microscopic observations of surface morphology and graphene distribution. To gain insights into the growth mechanism, we calculate the SiC surface structures with various C coverages using a first-principles scheme. Uniform bilayer graphene a few micrometres in size is obtained by annealing in UHV.

Spatially Controlled Nucleation of Single-Crystal Graphene on Cu Assisted by Stacked Ni

In spite of recent progress of graphene growth using chemical vapor deposition, it is still a challenge to precisely control the nucleation site of graphene for the development of wafer-scale single-crystal graphene. In addition, the postgrowth patterning used for device fabrication deteriorates the quality of graphene. Herein we demonstrate the site-selective nucleation of single-crystal graphene on Cu foil based on spatial control of the local CH4 concentration by a perforated Ni foil. The catalytically active Ni foil acts as a CH4 modulator, resulting in millimeter-scale single-crystal grains at desired positions. The perforated Ni foil also allows to synthesize patterned graphene without any postgrowth processing. Furthermore, the uniformity of monolayer graphene is significantly improved when a plain Ni foil is placed below the Cu. Our findings offer a facile and effective way to control the nucleation of high-quality graphene, meeting the requirements of industrial processing.

Energy Dissipation in Graphene Mechanical Resonators with and without Free Edges

Graphene-based nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) have high future potential to realize sensitive mass and force sensors owing to graphene’s low mass density and exceptional mechanical properties. One of the important remaining issues in this field is how to achieve mechanical resonators with a high quality factor (Q). Energy dissipation in resonators decreases Q, and suppressing it is the key to realizing sensitive sensors. In this article, we review our recent work on energy dissipation in doubly-clamped and circular drumhead graphene resonators. We examined the temperature (T) dependence of the inverse of a quality factor (Q-1) to reveal what the dominant dissipation mechanism is. Our doubly-clamped trilayer resonators show a characteristic Q-1-T curve similar to that observed in monolayer resonators: Q-1 ∝ T2 above ∼100 K and ∝ T0.3 below ∼100 K. By comparing our results with previous experimental and theoretical results, we determine that the T2 and T0.3 dependences can be attributed to tensile strain induced by clamping metals and vibrations at the free edges in doubly-clamped resonators, respectively. The Q-1-T curve in our circular drumhead resonators indicates that removing free edges and clamping metal suppresses energy dissipation in the resonators, resulting in a linear T dependence of Q-1 in a wide temperature range.

Direct growth of graphene on SiC(0001) by KrF-excimer-laser irradiation

In this report, we propose a direct patterning method of graphene on the SiC(0001) surface by KrF-excimer-laser irradiation. In this method, Si atoms are locally sublimated from the SiC surface in the laser-irradiated area, and direct graphene growth is induced by the rearrangement of surplus carbon on the SiC surface. Using Raman microscopy, we demonstrated the formation of graphene by laser irradiation and observed the growth process by transmission electron microscopy and conductive atomic force microscopy. When SiC was irradiated by 5000 shots of the laser beam with a fluence of 1.2 J/cm2, two layers of graphene were synthesized on the SiC(0001) surface. The number of graphene layers increased from 2 to 5-7 with an increase in the number of laser shots. Based on the results of conductive-atomic force microscopy measurements, we conclude that graphene formation was initiated from the step area, after which the graphene grew towards the terrace area by further Si evaporation and C recombination with increasing laser irradiation.

Orientation-controlled growth of hexagonal boron nitride monolayers templated from graphene edges

The crystal orientation of epitaxially grown hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) monolayers from graphene edges was investigated. Low-energy electron microscopy observations reveal that the orientation of individual hBN grains is dependent on the direction of the templated zigzag edges of graphene. Furthermore, the triangular atomic defects in hBN were used to confirm the orientation of epitaxial hBN through high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations. The results indicate that the orientation of epitaxially grown hBN is determined by the formation of carbon–boron bonds at the graphene/hBN interface, which provides a promising way of producing uniform interface structures and orientation-controlled hBN grains.

Ultra-fine metal gate operated graphene optical intensity modulator

A graphene based top-gate optical modulator on a standard silicon photonic platform is proposed for the future optical telecommunication networks. On the basis of the device simulation, we proposed that an electro-absorption light modulation can be realized by an ultra-narrow metal top-gate electrode (width less than 400 nm) directly located on the top of a silicon wire waveguide. The designed structure also provides excellent features such as carrier doping and waveguide-planarization free fabrication processes. In terms of the fabrication, we established transferring of a CVD-grown mono-layer graphene sheet onto a CMOS compatible silicon photonic sample followed by a 25-nm thick ALD-grown Al2O3 deposition and Source-Gate-Drain electrodes formation. In addition, a pair of low-loss spot-size converter for the input and output area is integrated for the efficient light source coupling. The maximum modulation depth of over 30% (1.2 dB) is observed at a device length of 50 μm, and a metal width of 300 nm. Th...

Surface-Mediated Aligned Growth of Monolayer MoS2 and In-Plane Heterostructures with Graphene on Sapphire

Aligned growth of transition metal dichalcogenides and related two-dimensional (2D) materials is essential for the synthesis of high-quality 2D films due to effective stitching of merging grains. Here, we demonstrate the controlled growth of highly aligned molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) on c-plane sapphire with two distinct orientations, which are highly controlled by tuning sulfur concentration. We found that the size of the aligned MoS2 grains is smaller and their photoluminescence is weaker as compared with those of the randomly oriented grains, signifying enhanced MoS2-substrate interaction in the aligned grains. This interaction induces strain in the aligned MoS2, which can be recognized from their high susceptibility to air oxidation. The surface-mediated MoS2 growth on sapphire was further developed to the rational synthesis of an in-plane MoS2-graphene heterostructure connected with the predefined orientation. The in-plane epitaxy was observed by low-energy electron microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy suggest the alignment of a zigzag edge of MoS2 parallel to a zigzag edge of the neighboring graphene. Moreover, better electrical contact to MoS2 was obtained by the monolayer graphene compared with a conventional metal electrode. Our findings deepen the understanding of the chemical vapor deposition growth of 2D materials and also contribute to the tailored synthesis as well as applications of advanced 2D heterostructures.

Applying strain into graphene by SU-8 resist shrinkage

We investigated the use of the shrinkage of SU-8 resist caused by thermal annealing to apply strain into graphene grown by the chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) method. We demonstrate that the shrinkage of resist deposited on top of graphene on a substrate induces a local tensile strain within a distance of 1–2 μm from the edge of the resist. The thermal shrinkage of SU-8 will allow us to design the local strain in graphene on substrates. We also show that the shrinkage induces a large tensile strain in graphene suspended between two bars of SU-8. We expect that a much larger strain can be induced by suppressing defects in CVD-grown graphene.

Applying a large strain into graphene using thermal shrinkage of SU-8 resist

We investigated the use of the thermal shrinkage of SU-8 resist for applying strain into graphene grown by the chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) method. We demonstrate that the shrinkage of resist deposited on top of graphene on a substrate induces a local tensile strain within a distance of 1-2 μm from the edge of the resist. The thermal shrinkage of SU-8 allows us to design the local strain in graphene on substrates. We also show that this method induces a large tensile strain in graphene suspended between two bars of SU-8. We expect that a much larger strain can be induced by suppressing the defects of the CVD-grown graphene.