Sang Yoon Yang

Metal‐Etching‐Free Direct Delamination and Transfer of Single‐Layer Graphene with a High Degree of Freedom

A method of graphene transfer without metal etching is developed to minimize the contamination of graphene in the transfer process and to endow the transfer process with a greater degree of freedom. The method involves direct delamination of single-layer graphene from a growth substrate, resulting in transferred graphene with nearly zero Dirac voltage due to the absence of residues that would originate from metal etching. Several demonstrations are also presented to show the high degree of freedom and the resulting versatility of this transfer method.

Effective shape-controlled growth of monolayer MoS2 flakes by powder-based chemical vapor deposition

In the recent years, transition-metal dichalcogenides such as MoS2 have attracted considerable attention owing to their unique structure and electronic properties. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a popular method for producing MoS2 flakes with different shapes. Here, we report an effective method for achieving a broad range of shape evolution in CVD-grown monolayer MoS2 flakes. By controlling the S and MoO3 temperatures, the shape of the monolayer MoS2 flakes was varied from hexagonal to triangular via intermediate shapes such as truncated and multi-apex triangles. The shape evolution of the MoS2 flakes can be explained by introducing the term “nominal Mo:S ratio”, which refers to the amount of loaded MoO3 and evaporated S powders. By using the nominal Mo:S ratio, we predicted the potential reaction atmosphere and effectively controlled the actual proportion of MoO3−x with respect to S in the growth region, along with the growth temperature. From the systematic investigation of the behavior of the shape evolution, we developed a shape-evolution diagram, which can be used as a practical guide for producing CVD-grown MoS2 flakes with desired shapes.

Flexible Nonvolatile Polymer Memory Array on Plastic Substrate via Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition

Resistive random access memory based on polymer thin films has been developed as a promising flexible nonvolatile memory for flexible electronic systems. Memory plays an important role in all modern electronic systems for data storage, processing, and communication; thus, the development of flexible memory is essential for the realization of flexible electronics. However, the existing solution-processed, polymer-based RRAMs have exhibited serious drawbacks in terms of the uniformity, electrical stability, and long-term stability of the polymer thin films. Here, we present poly(1,3,5-trimethyl-1,3,5-trivinyl cyclotrisiloxane) (pV3D3)-based RRAM arrays fabricated via the solvent-free technique called initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) process for flexible memory application. Because of the outstanding chemical stability of pV3D3 films, the pV3D3-RRAM arrays can be fabricated by a conventional photolithography process. The pV3D3-RRAM on flexible substrates showed unipolar resistive switching memory with an on/off ratio of over 10(7), stable retention time for 10(5) s, excellent cycling endurance over 10(5) cycles, and robust immunity to mechanical stress. In addition, pV3D3-RRAMs showed good uniformity in terms of device-to-device distribution. The pV3D3-RRAM will pave the way for development of next-generation flexible nonvolatile memory devices.

Ultra-low power, highly uniform polymer memory by inserted multilayer graphene electrode

Filament type resistive random access memory (RRAM) based on polymer thin films is a promising device for next generation, flexible nonvolatile memory. However, the resistive switching nonuniformity and the high power consumption found in the general filament type RRAM devices present critical issues for practical memory applications. Here, we introduce a novel approach not only to reduce the power consumption but also to improve the resistive switching uniformity in RRAM devices based on poly(1,3,5-trimethyl-3,4,5-trivinyl cyclotrisiloxane) by inserting multilayer graphene (MLG) at the electrode/polymer interface. The resistive switching uniformity was thereby significantly improved, and the power consumption was markedly reduced by 250 times. Furthermore, the inserted MLG film enabled a transition of the resistive switching operation from unipolar resistive switching to bipolar resistive switching and induced self-compliance behavior. The findings of this study can pave the way toward a new area of application for graphene in electronic devices.

Zero-static-power nonvolatile logic-in-memory circuits for flexible electronics

Flexible logic circuits and memory with ultra-low static power consumption are in great demand for battery-powered flexible electronic systems. Here, we show that a flexible nonvolatile logic-in-memory circuit enabling normally-off computing can be implemented using a poly(1,3,5-trivinyl-1,3,5-trimethyl cyclotrisiloxane) (pV3D3)-based memristor array. Although memristive logic-in-memory circuits have been previously reported, the requirements of additional components and the large variation of memristors have limited demonstrations to simple gates within a few operation cycles on rigid substrates only. Using memristor-aided logic (MAGIC) architecture requiring only memristors and pV3D3-memristor with good uniformity on a flexible substrate, for the first time, we experimentally demonstrated our implementation of MAGIC-NOT and -NOR gates during multiple cycles and even under bent conditions. Other functions, such as OR, AND, NAND, and a half adder, are also realized by combinations of NOT and NOR gates within a crossbar array. This research advances the development of novel computing architecture with zero static power consumption for batterypowered flexible electronic systems.

Polymer-free graphene transfer for enhanced reliability of graphene field-effect transistors

We propose a polymer-free graphene transfer technique for chemical vapor deposition-grown graphene to ensure the intrinsic electrical properties of graphene for reliable transistor applications. The use of a metal catalyst as a supporting layer avoids contamination from the polymer material and graphene films become free of polymer residue after the transfer process. Atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy indicate that the polymer-free transferred graphene shows closer properties to intrinsic graphene properties. The reliability of graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) was investigated through the analysis of the negative gate bias-stress-induced instability. This work reveals the effect of polymer residues on the reliability of GFETs, and that the developed new polymer-free transfer method enhances the reliability.

Interface engineering for high performance graphene electronic devices

A decade after the discovery of graphene flakes, exfoliated from graphite, we have now secured large scale and high quality graphene film growth technology via a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. With the establishment of mass production of graphene using CVD, practical applications of graphene to electronic devices have gained an enormous amount of attention. However, several issues arise from the interfaces of graphene systems, such as damage/unintentional doping of graphene by the transfer process, the substrate effects on graphene, and poor dielectric formation on graphene due to its inert features, which result in degradation of both electrical performance and reliability in actual devices. The present paper provides a comprehensive review of the recent approaches to resolve these issues by interface engineering of graphene for high performance electronic devices. We deal with each interface that is encountered during the fabrication steps of graphene devices, from the graphene/metal growth substrate to graphene/high-k dielectrics, including the intermediate graphene/target substrate.

Tuning the catalytic functionality of transition metal dichalcogenides grown by chemical vapour deposition

Nanomaterials have been widely investigated as high performance catalysts due to their extremely enhanced surface-to-volume ratio compared with bulk materials. Among the nanomaterials, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted much interest and been studied as a good candidate for electrocatalysts due to the capability of tuning their catalytically active sites. One of the primary methods for the synthesis of TMDs is chemical vapour deposition (CVD), which enables the growth of high quality, large-area TMDs with uniform, atomically thin features and layer number controllability. In addition, the high degrees of freedom of CVD methods can provide effective routes for realizing various morphologies and structures of the synthesized TMD films with versatile catalytic functionalities. This review is intended to deliver a focused overview of CVD growth routes of functional TMDs with catalytic functionality that enables the enhancement of their HER performances. Two growth strategies for the generation of catalytically active sites in functional TMDs are introduced. The first strategy is the activation of the TMD basal plane by creating additional defects, such as S vacancies, in the post-growth stage. The second is the effective production of catalytic edges by engineering the morphologies and structures of CVD-grown TMDs in the mid-growth stage. The resulting HER performances for each CVD growth route are also discussed. This review will provide insights for the design of synthetic schemes and catalytic systems of CVD-grown functional TMDs for high performance HER applications.