Graphene: from functionalization to devices
Résumé
The year 2014 marks the first decade of the rise of graphene. Graphene, a single atomic
layer of carbon atoms in sp2 bonding configuration having a honeycomb structure, has now
become a well-known and well-established material. Among some of its many outstanding
fundamental properties, one can mention a very high carrier mobility, a very large spin
diffusion length, unsurpassed mechanical properties as graphene is the strongest material
ever measured and an exceptional thermal conductivity scaling more than one order of
magnitude above that of copper. After the first years of the graphene rush, graphene growth
is now well controlled using various methods like epitaxial growth on silicon carbide
substrate, chemical vapour deposition (CVD) or plasma techniques on metal, insulator or
semiconductor substrates. More applied research is now taking over the initial studies on
graphene production. Indeed, graphene is a promising material for many advanced
applications such as, but not limited to, electronic, spintronics, sensors, photonics,
micro/nano-electromechanical (MEMS/NEMS) systems, super-capacitors or touch-screen
technologies. In this context, this Special Issue of the Journal of Physics D: Applied
Physics on graphene reviews some of the recent achievements, progress and prospects in
this field. It includes a collection of seventeen invited articles covering the current status
and future prospects of some selected topics of strong current interest. This Special Issue is
organized in four sections.
The first section is dedicated to graphene devices, and opens with an article by de Heer
et al on an investigation of integrating graphene devices with silicon complementary
metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Then, a study by Svintsov et al proposes
a lateral all-graphene tunnel field-effect transistor (FET) with a high on/off current switching
ratio. Next, Tsukagoshi et al present how a band-gap opening occurs in a graphene bilayer
by using a perpendicular electric field to operate logic gates. Plac¸ais et al then show the
realization of graphene microwave nano-transistors that are especially suitable for fast
charge detectors. Matsumoto et al describe next some interesting graphene-based biosensor
applications, while the following article by Otsuji et al shows recent advances in plasmonics
in terahertz device applications. This section ends with the Dollfus et al article dealing with
non-linear effects in graphene devices investigated by simulation methods.
The second section concerns the electronic and transport properties and includes four
articles. The first one by Gurzadyan et al provides an investigation of graphene oxide in
water by femtosecond pump–probe spectroscopy to study its transient absorption properties.
Jouault et al then review the quantum Hall effect of self-organized graphene monolayers
epitaxially grown on the C-face of SiC. Next, Petkovic et al report on the observation of
edge magneto-plasmons in graphene. Finally, Roche and Valenzuela focus on the limits of
conventional views in graphene spin transport and offer novel perspectives for further
progress.
The third section addresses graphene tailoring and functionalization as studied by
Genorio and Znidarsic for graphene nanoribbons, or by atomic intercalation as shown by
the two articles from Starke and Forti, and from Bisson et al.
The last section is devoted to graphene growth and morphology. Ogino et al first
describe a method to grow graphene on insulating substrates using polymer films as a
carbon source. Then, Suemitsu et al show the recent progresses in epitaxial graphene
formation on cubic silicon carbide thin films. Finally, Norimatsu and Kusunoki investigate
the structural properties and morphology of epitaxial graphene grown on hexagonal silicon
carbide substrates by using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope, their article
closing this Special Issue.