Strain field in graphene induced by nanopillar mesh

Abstract

The mechanical and electronic properties of a graphene membrane placed on top of a superlattice of nanopillars are investigated. We use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to access the deformation fields and the tight-binding approaches to calculate the electronic properties. The system of interest consists of a triangular lattice of nanopillars with a period of a=750 nm over which the graphene layer is deposited. Ripples form in the graphene layer that span across the unit cell, connecting neighbouring pillars, in agreement with recent experiments. We find that the resulting pseudo-magnetic field (PMF) varies strongly across the unit cell. We investigate the dependence of PMF on unit cell boundary conditions, height of the pillars, and the strength of the van der Waals interaction between graphene and the substrate. We find direct correspondence with typical experiments on pillars, showing intrinsic "slack" in the graphene membrane. PMF values are confirmed by the local density of states calculations performed at different positions of the unit cell showing pseudo-Landau levels at varying spacings. Our findings regarding the relaxed membrane configuration and the induced strains are transferable to other flexible 2D membranes.

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• Wetting and Strain Engineering of 2D Materials on Nanopatterned Substrates
• Scalable tight-binding model for strained graphene