Toward Fabrication of Devices Based on Graphene/Oxide Multilayers

Abstract

Owing to its high electrical conductivity, low density,and flexibility, graphene has great potential for use as a buildingblock in a wide range of applications from nanoelectronics to biosensingand high-frequency devices. For many device applications, it is requiredto deposit dielectric materials on graphene at high temperatures andin ambient oxygen. This has been proven to be highly challenging becausethese conditions cause significant degradation in graphene. In thiswork, we investigate the degradation of graphene at elevated temperaturesin an oxygen atmosphere and possible protection mechanisms to enablethe growth of oxide thin films on graphene at higher temperatures.We show that coating graphene with self-assembled monolayers of hexamethyldisilazane(HMDS) prior to a high-temperature deposition can significantly reducethe damage induced. Furthermore, a graphene sample treated with HMDSdisplayed a weaker doping effect due to weak interaction with oxygenspecies than bare graphene, and a much slower rate of electrical resistancedegradation was exhibited during annealing. Thus, it is a promisingapproach that could enable the deposition of metal oxide materialson graphene at high temperatures without significant degradation ingraphene quality, which is critical for a wide range of applications.