Using novel ideas for the fabrication of epitaxial graphene （EG） on SiC, two forms of graphene termed as vertical aligned gra- phene sheets （VAGS） and graphene covered SiC powder （GCSP） were derived, respectively, from SiC slices and SiC powder, aimed for applications in energy storage and photocatalysis. Herein, the fabrication procedures, morphology characteristics, some intrinsic physical properties and performances for applications in field effect transistor （FET） and cold cathode field emission source are revealed and analyzed based on the graphene materials. The EG on a 2-inch SiC （0001） showed an average sheet resistance about 720 D,/~5 with a non-uniformity 7.2%. The FETs fabricated on the EG possessed a cutoff frequency 80 GHz. Based on the VAGS derived from a completely carbonized SiC slice, a magnetic phase diagram of graphene with irregu- lar zigzag edges is also reported.
The field emission （FE） properties of vertically aligned graphene sheets （VAGSs） grown on different SiC substrates are reported. The VAGSs grown on nonpolar SiC （10-10） substrate show an ordered alignment with the graphene basal plane-parallel to each other, and show better FE features, with a lower turn-on field and a larger field enhancement factor. The VAGSs grown on polar SiC （000-1 ） substrate reveal a random petaloid-shaped arrangement and stable current emission over 8 hours with a maximum emission current fluctuation of only 4%. The reasons behind the differing FE characteristics of the VAGSs on different SiC substrates are analyzed and discussed.
Wafer-scale graphene on SiC with uniform structural and electrical features is needed to realize graphene-based radio frequency devices and integrated circuits.Here,a continuous bi/trilayer of graphene with uniform structural and electrical features was grown on 2 inch 6H-SiC (0001) by etching before and after graphene growth.Optical and atomic force microscopy images indicate the surface morphology of graphene is uniform over the 2 inch wafer.Raman and transmittance spectra confirmed that its layer number was also uniform.Contactless resistance measurements indicated the average graphene sheet resistance was 720 /with a non-uniformity of 7.2%.Large area contactless mobility measurements gave a carrier mobility of about 450 cm2 /(V s) with an electron concentration of about 1.5×10 13 cm2.To our knowledge,such homogeneous morphology and resistance on wafer scale are among the best results reported for wafer-scale graphene on SiC.
JIA YuPing GUO LiWei LIN JingJing CHEN LianLian CHEN XiaoLong
We report on a demonstration of top-gated graphene field-effect transistors(FETs) fabricated on epitaxial SiC substrate.Composite stacks,benzocyclobutene and atomic layer deposition Al2O3,are used as the gate dielectrics to maintain intrinsic carrier mobility of graphene.All graphene FETs exhibit n-type transistor characteristics and the drain current is nearly linear dependence on gate and drain voltages.Despite a low field-effect mobility of 40 cm2/(V s),a maximum cutoff frequency of 4.6 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 1.5 GHz were obtained for the graphene devices with a gate length of 1 μm.
MA PengJIN ZhiGUO JianNanPAN HongLiangLIU XinYuYE TianChunJIA YuPingGUO LiWeiCHEN XiaoLong
Defects in silicon carbide （SIC） substrate are crucial to the properties of the epitaxial graphene （EG） grown on it. Here we report the effect of defects in SiC on the crystalline quality of EGs through comparative studies of the characteristics of the EGs grown on SiC （0001） substrates with different defect densities. It is found that EGs on high quality SiC possess regular steps on the surface of the SiC and there is no discernible D peak in its Raman spectrum. Conversely, the EG on the SiC with a high density of defects has a strong D peak, irregular stepped morphology and poor uniformity in graphene layer numbers. It is the defects in the SiC that are responsible for the irregular stepped morphology and lead to the small domain size in the EG.
