Fluorinated graphene dielectric films obtained from functionalized graphene suspension: preparation and properties

In the present study, we have examined the interaction between a suspension of graphene in dimethylformamide and an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid, which was found to result in partial fluorination of suspension flakes. A considerable decrease in the thickness and lateral size of the graphene flakes (up to 1-5 monolayers in thickness and 100-300 nm in diameter) with increasing duration of fluorination treatment is found to be accompanied by a simultaneous transition of the flakes from the conducting to the insulating state. Smooth and uniform insulating films with a roughness of ∼2 nm and thicknesses down to 20 nm were deposited from the suspension on silicon. The electrical and structural properties of the films suggest their use as insulating elements in thin-film nano- and microelectronic device structures. In particular, it was found that the films prepared from the fluorinated suspension display rather high breakdown voltages (field strength of (1-3) × 10(6) V cm(-1)), ultralow densities of charges in the film and at the interface with the silicon substrate in metal-insulator-semiconductor structures (∼(1-5) × 10(10) cm(-2)). Such excellent characteristics of the dielectric film can be compared only to well-developed SiO2 layers. The films from the fluorinated suspension are cheap, practically feasible and easy to produce.