Local ion irradiation of thin graphene films grown on SiC substrates

Brigitte Prevel (1) , J.-M. Benoit (1) , L. Bardotti (1) , P. Mélinon (1) , A. Mayumi Sato (1) , A. Ouerghi (2) , D. Lucot (2) , E. Bourhis (2) , J. Gierak (2)

1 LPMCN - Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée et Nanostructures
2 LPN - Laboratoire de photonique et de nanostructures

In this paper, we report on the surface patterning of punctual defects onto graphene films grown on 6H–SiC(0001) substrates, using a finely focused gallium (Ga⁺) ion beam. We present organized arrays of nano-defects, designed using ion doses in the range of 10 –1 × 10⁶ Ga⁺ ions/dot. Using Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy (CAFM) and Raman spectroscopy we evidence the strong resilience of graphene towards ion irradiation and characterize the morphology and the electronic properties of the FIB-induced local nano-defects. We show that punctual ion irradiation and dose control allow progressive amorphization of graphene leading to the promising perspective of graphene-based tunable templates.

Keywords: Graphene; FIB; Surface defects; Nanopatterning

Domains: Engineering Sciences [physics]; Chemical Sciences; Physics [physics]

Brigitte Prevel, J.-M. Benoit, L. Bardotti, P. Mélinon, A. Mayumi Sato, et al.. Local ion irradiation of thin graphene films grown on SiC substrates. Microelectronic Engineering, 2012, 98, pp.206-209. ⟨10.1016/j.mee.2012.07.025⟩. ⟨hal-03513890⟩