High-Contrast SEM Imaging of Supported Few-Layer Graphene for Differentiating Distinct Layers and Resolving Fine...

For supported graphene, reliable differentiation and clear visualization of distinct graphene layers and fine features such as wrinkles are essential for revealing the structure-property relationships for graphene and graphene-based devices. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been frequently used for this purpose where high-quality image contrast is critical. However, it is surprising that the effect of key imaging parameters on the image contrast has been seriously undermined by the graphene community. Here, superior image contrast of secondary electron (SE) images for few-layer graphene supported on SiC and SiO₂ /Si is realized through simultaneously tuning two key parameters-acceleration voltage (V_acc ) and working distance (WD). The overlooked role of WD in characterizing graphene is highlighted and clearly demonstrated. A unified model of V_acc and WD dependence of three types of SE collected by the standard side-attached Everhart-Thornley (E-T) SE detector is conceptually developed for mechanistically understanding the improved mass thickness contrast for supported few-layer graphene. The findings reported here will have important implications for effective characterizations of atomically thick 2D materials and devices.