Graphene at high bias: cracking, layer by layer sublimation and fusing

Abstract

Graphene and few-layer graphene at high bias expose a wealth of phenomena due to the high temperatures reached. With in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) we observe directly how the current modifies the structure, and vice versa. In some samples, cracks propagate from the edges of the flakes, leading to the formation of narrow constrictions or to nanometer spaced gaps after breakdown. In other samples we find layer-by-layer evaporation of few-layer graphene, which could be exploited for the controlled production of single layer graphene from multi-layered samples. Surprisingly, we even find that two pieces of graphene that overlap can heal out at high bias and form one continuous sheet. These findings open up new avenues to structure graphene for specific device applications.

References in corpus (5)

• Two Dimensional Atomic Crystals
• Ultrahigh electron mobility in suspended graphene
• Energy Band Gap Engineering of Graphene Nanoribbons
• Current-induced cleaning of graphene
• Quantized conductance of a suspended graphene nanoconstriction

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Bright visible light emission from graphene
• Gate defined zero- and one-dimensional confinement in bilayer graphene
• Quantum Dots at Room Temperature carved out from Few-Layer Graphene
• Lattice Expansion in Seamless Bi layer Graphene Constrictions at High Bias
• Fabrication of hybrid molecular devices using multi-layer graphene break junctions