May 28, 2008 | K. I. Bolotin, K. J. Sikes, Z. Jiang, M. Klima, G. Fudenberg, J. Hone, P. Kim, and H. L. Stormer
This paper reports the achievement of ultrahigh electron mobility in suspended graphene. By suspending a single-layer graphene flake above a Si/SiO₂ gate electrode, the researchers achieved electron mobilities exceeding 200,000 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ at electron densities of ~2×10¹¹ cm⁻². This is a tenfold improvement over traditional, non-suspended devices. The improvement is attributed to the reduction of extrinsic scattering sources, such as surface charge traps, interfacial phonons, and fabrication residues, which are minimized by suspending the graphene.
The fabrication process involved optically locating a single-layer graphene flake on a silicon substrate, followed by electron beam lithography and etching to create electrical contacts. The graphene was suspended by etching the SiO₂ layer beneath it, allowing the flake to be supported by gold electrodes. The device was then transferred to ethanol and dried to prevent collapse.
Electrical measurements were performed in a vacuum cryostat, revealing a Dirac peak at near-zero gate voltage. The mobility was calculated as μ = 1/(e n ρxx), and after current annealing, the mobility increased to ~230,000 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹, a significant improvement over previous values. The width of the Dirac peak also decreased, indicating reduced charge inhomogeneity and improved sample quality.
The Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations were observed at much lower magnetic fields in the suspended devices, indicating a reduced scattering time and cleaner samples. The results suggest that impurities trapped between the SiO₂ and graphene are limiting the mobility of unsuspended devices. The suspended devices, however, show significantly improved transport properties due to the removal of these impurities.
The study concludes that the fabrication process results in very clean samples with far fewer scatterers compared to substrate-supported devices. The improved mobility and reduced scattering time are attributed to the removal of extrinsic scattering sources, demonstrating the potential of suspended graphene for studying intrinsic transport properties.This paper reports the achievement of ultrahigh electron mobility in suspended graphene. By suspending a single-layer graphene flake above a Si/SiO₂ gate electrode, the researchers achieved electron mobilities exceeding 200,000 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ at electron densities of ~2×10¹¹ cm⁻². This is a tenfold improvement over traditional, non-suspended devices. The improvement is attributed to the reduction of extrinsic scattering sources, such as surface charge traps, interfacial phonons, and fabrication residues, which are minimized by suspending the graphene.
The fabrication process involved optically locating a single-layer graphene flake on a silicon substrate, followed by electron beam lithography and etching to create electrical contacts. The graphene was suspended by etching the SiO₂ layer beneath it, allowing the flake to be supported by gold electrodes. The device was then transferred to ethanol and dried to prevent collapse.
Electrical measurements were performed in a vacuum cryostat, revealing a Dirac peak at near-zero gate voltage. The mobility was calculated as μ = 1/(e n ρxx), and after current annealing, the mobility increased to ~230,000 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹, a significant improvement over previous values. The width of the Dirac peak also decreased, indicating reduced charge inhomogeneity and improved sample quality.
The Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations were observed at much lower magnetic fields in the suspended devices, indicating a reduced scattering time and cleaner samples. The results suggest that impurities trapped between the SiO₂ and graphene are limiting the mobility of unsuspended devices. The suspended devices, however, show significantly improved transport properties due to the removal of these impurities.
The study concludes that the fabrication process results in very clean samples with far fewer scatterers compared to substrate-supported devices. The improved mobility and reduced scattering time are attributed to the removal of extrinsic scattering sources, demonstrating the potential of suspended graphene for studying intrinsic transport properties.