CAREER: Intrinsic Transport Properties of Graphene: Approaching the Elusive Ground State on Crystalline Substrates

*非技术摘要*石墨烯是一种单层石墨，具有独特的电子性质，对基础和应用纳米材料物理研究都很重要。石墨烯中的载流子表现得很像光。石墨烯的这种内在无序的不同寻常的性质可以被用来探索芯片上相对论量子电动力学的结果，这使得石墨烯对于增加我们对基础物理的理解非常重要。通过观察到载流子对外加电场(场效应)的响应，证明了石墨烯在电子应用中的用途。然而，由于石墨烯只由表面原子组成，其固有性质对吸附和衬底诱导的无序很敏感。吸附诱导的紊乱现在可以消除，但到目前为止底物诱导的紊乱还没有得到控制。因此，石墨烯的内在性质仍然未知。该学院早期职业奖支持寻求揭示石墨烯内在属性的项目，并为利用晶体衬底探索量子电动力学铺平了道路。这种底物有望消除底物诱导的无序，并创造出完美的？石墨烯。这些研究还将阐明基于石墨烯的设备的内在局限性。因此，它们有可能对石墨烯的电子应用产生广泛的影响。参与和支持该项目的研究生和本科生将接受前沿跨学科纳米科学研究方面的培训。将为高水平的本科生开发一门课程，将纳米科学的前沿，特别是碳纳米结构所展示的前沿，带到课堂上。该研究计划还将与为公众开展广泛的教育推广活动相结合。外展计划将为6-12年级的学生、K-12教育工作者和当地社区量身定做，重点是佛罗里达州中部地区多元化人口中代表不足的少数族裔。外展工作将旨在招募、教育和培训下一代科学家，并提高社区的整体科学素养。*技术摘要*石墨烯是一种完美的二维半金属电子材料，具有线性色散和电子-空穴对称性，电子态密度在费米水平上为零。这种不同寻常的能带结构，类似于光在自由空间中的色散，激发了许多理论建议，用石墨烯来测试相对论量子电动力学的结果。然而，石墨烯对吸附和底物的极端敏感性使得对无本征无序的石墨烯进行实验是不可能的。虽然吸附诱导的无序现在可以消除，但底物诱导的无序仍然是一个问题。这一学院早期职业奖支持的项目将为一系列开创性实验铺平道路，方法是使用晶体衬底以最小的无序对扁平、原子清洁的石墨烯进行研究。本征输运性质将被阐明。获得无序石墨烯的能力将被用作探索具有高精细结构常数的量子电动力学结果的广泛基础。参与这项研究的研究生和本科生将接受尖端纳米科学技术的实践培训。将为高水平的本科生开发一门课程，将纳米科学的前沿带入课堂。该研究计划将与为公众开展广泛的教育推广活动相结合。外展工作的目的是招募、教育和培训下一代科学家，并提高社区的整体科学素养。

****NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT****Graphene, a single layer of graphite, possesses unique electronic properties important for both fundamental and applied nanoscale materials physics research. Charge carriers in graphene behave much like light. This unusual property of intrinsic disorder-free graphene can be exploited to explore the consequences of relativistic Quantum Electrodynamics on a chip, making graphene important for increasing our understanding of fundamental physics. The utility of graphene for electronic applications is demonstrated by the observed response of the charge carriers to an applied electric field (the field effect). Yet, because graphene is composed of only surface atoms, its intrinsic properties are sensitive to adsorbates and substrate-induced disorder. Adsorbate-induced disorder can now be eliminated, but so far substrate-induced disorder has not been controlled. Thus, the intrinsic properties of graphene remain unknown. This Faculty Early Career Award supports projects seeking to uncover the intrinsic properties of graphene and pave a way for the exploration of Quantum Electrodynamics by utilizing crystalline substrates. Such substrates are expected to eliminate substrate-induced disorder, and create ?perfect? graphene. The studies will also elucidate the intrinsic limitation of graphene-based devices. Thus, they have the potential to have a broad impact on electronic applications of graphene. The graduate and undergraduate students participating in, and supported by, this project will receive training in cutting-edge-interdisciplinary-nanoscience research. A course will be developed for upper-level undergraduates to bring the frontiers of nanoscience, particularly as exhibited by carbon nanostructures, to the classroom. The research program will also be integrated with development of extensive educational outreach activities for the general public. The outreach program will be tailored for students in grades 6-12, K-12 educators, and the local community with emphasis on underrepresented minorities from a diverse population represented in the Central Florida region. The outreach efforts will be designed to recruit, educate and train the next generation scientists and to increase the overall scientific literacy of the community.****TECHNICAL ABSTRACT****Graphene, a single layer of graphite, is a perfect two-dimensional semi-metallic electronic material, which possesses a linear dispersion and electron-hole symmetry with a vanishing density of electronic states at the Fermi level. This unusual band structure, akin to the light dispersion in free space, has inspired many theoretical proposals for testing the consequences of relativistic Quantum Electrodynamics using graphene. Yet, the extreme sensitivity of graphene to adsorbates and substrates has made made it impossible to perform experiments on intrinsic disorder-free graphene. While adsorbate-induced disorder can now be eliminated, substrate-induced disorder remains an issue. This Faculty Early Career Award supports projects that will pave the way for series of groundbreaking experiments, by enabling investigations of flat, atomically-clean graphene with minimal disorder using crystalline substrates. Intrinsic transport properties will be elucidated. The ability to access disorder-free graphene will be utilized as a broad foundation for exploring consequences of Quantum Electrodynamics with a high fine structure constant. The graduate and undergraduate students participating in this research will receive hands-on training in cutting-edge nanoscience techniques. A course will be developed for upper-level undergraduates to bring the frontiers of nanoscience to the classroom. The research program will be integrated with the development of extensive educational outreach activities for the general public. The outreach efforts will be designed to recruit, educate and train the next generation of scientists and to increase the overall scientific literacy of the community.