Dense arrays of highly aligned graphene nanoribbons produced by substrate-controlled metal-assisted etching of graphene

Abstract

Dense arrays of aligned graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are fabricated by substrate-controlled etching of large-area single-layer graphene. An adequate choice of etching substrate and catalyst deposition method allows densities up to 25 nanoribbons μm(-1) to be obtained with average widths of 19 nm. The efficacy of the method is evidenced by the high on/off ratios of back-gated transistors made with these GNRs, which can go up to 5000.

Keywords: etching; graphene; graphene nanoribbon; nanodevices; patterning.