Controlling the Electronic Properties of Graphene

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Technical. This project aims to develop understanding and materials techniques needed to control and exploit the effects of disorder and substrate interactions on the electronic properties of graphene. Graphene-substrate interactions will be studied to enable tuning of the electronic bandstructure, including opening a bandgap. High-mobility graphene enabled by this research will contribute to advanced device development, and allow the study of phenomena associated with Dirac fermions not accessible in particle physics, including Klein tunneling, Zitterbewegung, and the Schwinger mechanism. New low-temperature quantum phases may be observable in high-quality graphene, such as the fractional quantum Hall effect. Adsorbate interactions with graphene will be used to study electronic phenomena such as superconductivity in highly doped graphene and the Kondo effect in graphene with transition-metal impurities, as well as the study of ordering and phase transitions in the adsorbate layer. This research is expected to yield high-mobility graphene directly applicable to high-speed analog electronic devices operating at higher frequencies than presently possible, enabling high performance applications in communications and sensing. Producing a bandgap in graphene through substrate interaction may also enable high-speed, low-power logic applications of graphene transistors. Additionally, understanding interactions between graphene and the environment may lead to new types of chemical and biochemical sensors based on high-mobility graphene. Non-Technical. The project addresses fundamental research issues in a topical area of electronic/photonic materials science and condensed matter physics having technological relevance. Basic understanding gained is expected to lead to improved device performance, and to allow design of new components. The project integrates research and education providing students with hands-on laboratory experience and training while conducting forefront research. Two Ph.D. students will be trained in state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research in nanoelectronics and surface science. The investigators will work with the graduate students to design and implement nanotechnology demonstrations involving graphene and graphite, and used in outreach to K-12 students and teachers from under-represented groups.