Epitaxial graphene nanoribbon array fabrication using BCP-assisted nanolithography

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Solid State Physics

Background:

• Epitaxial growth of graphene on silicon carbide (SiC) enables wafer-scale production.
• Fabricating high-density, ordered nanostructures on graphene is crucial for advanced electronic devices.
• Existing methods for graphene nanoribbon fabrication often face challenges with resolution, uniformity, and defect density.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a scalable process for fabricating dense graphene nanoribbon arrays.
• To achieve ultra-narrow linewidths and low defect counts in graphene nanoribbons.
• To combine self-assembly and top-down techniques for improved nanostructure fabrication.

Main Methods:

• Utilized self-assembled block copolymer patterns on wafer-scale epitaxial graphene grown on SiC.
• Fabricated etching masks with long, straight nanoribbon array structures down to 10 nm linewidth.
• Transferred nanoribbon patterns from masks to the underlying graphene layer.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated dense arrays of graphene nanoribbons with linewidths as narrow as 10 nm.
• The process combines top-down and self-assembly steps, yielding long nanoribbon arrays.
• Achieved low defect counts in the fabricated graphene nanoribbon arrays.

Conclusions:

• A novel and effective process for creating ultra-narrow graphene nanoribbon arrays on SiC has been established.
• This method represents a significant advancement in the fabrication of high-quality epitaxial graphene nanostructures.
• The developed technique is suitable for wafer-scale production, paving the way for next-generation electronic applications.