Graphene removal by water-assisted focused electron-beam-induced etching - unveiling the dose and dwell time impact on the etch profile and topographical changes in SiO2 substrates

Graphene is one of the most extensively studied 2D materials, exhibiting extraordinary mechanical and electronic properties. Although many years have passed since its discovery, manipulating single graphene layers is still challenging using standard resist-based lithography techniques. Recently, it...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Szkudlarek, Aleksandra, Michalik, Jan M., Serrano-Esparza, Inés, Nováček, Zdeněk, Novotná, Veronika, Ozga, Piotr, Kapusta, Czesław, Teresa, José María de
Tipo de documento: artigo
Estado:Versão publicada
Data de publicação:2024
País:España
Recursos:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositório:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/354583
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/354583
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Direct writing
Nanopatterning
Dwell time
Maskless lithography
Electron dose
Graphene
Etching
Descrição
Resumo:Graphene is one of the most extensively studied 2D materials, exhibiting extraordinary mechanical and electronic properties. Although many years have passed since its discovery, manipulating single graphene layers is still challenging using standard resist-based lithography techniques. Recently, it has been shown that it is possible to etch graphene directly in water-assisted processes using the so-called focused electron-beam-induced etching (FEBIE), with a spatial resolution of ten nanometers. Nanopatterning graphene with such a method in one single step and without using a physical mask or resist is a very appealing approach. During the process, on top of graphene nanopatterning, we have found significant morphological changes induced in the SiO2 substrate even at low electron dose values (<8 nC/μm2). We demonstrate that graphene etching and topographical changes in SiO2 substrates can be controlled via electron beam parameters such as dwell time and dose.