We present an undergraduate instructional laboratory experiment that introduces students to the most well-known van der Waals material, graphene. Like all van der Waals materials, graphene is a crystal that can be peeled into layers, in some cases, down to atomic thicknesses. In this experiment, students first fabricate a sample consisting of few-layer graphene flakes atop of a silicon wafer substrate using the mechanical exfoliation method. The students then use a microscope setup to acquire images of the sample under white-light and LED illumination. These images are analyzed to produce optical contrast values (a measure of the reflectance of the graphene flakes) as a function of illumination wavelength. A theoretical model for optical contrast is developed based on thin-film interference and the resulting theory and experiment are compared, yielding a value for the graphene flake's thickness. This experiment is designed for advanced instructional laboratory and upper level optics courses. It may also be simplified into a qualitative introductory physics laboratory, demonstration, or outreach workshop activity.
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September 2024
INSTRUCTIONAL LABORATORIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS|
September 01 2024
Bringing graphene into the undergraduate classroom
Andrew Seredinski;
Andrew Seredinski
a)
1
School of Sciences and Humanities, Wentworth Institute of Technology
, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
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Tedi Qafko;
Tedi Qafko
b)
2
School of Engineering, Wentworth Institute of Technology
, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
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Nathanael Hillyer;
Nathanael Hillyer
c)
2
School of Engineering, Wentworth Institute of Technology
, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
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Alexander Norman
Alexander Norman
d)
2
School of Engineering, Wentworth Institute of Technology
, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
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Am. J. Phys. 92, 703–710 (2024)
Article history
Received:
June 23 2023
Accepted:
May 30 2024
Citation
Andrew Seredinski, Tedi Qafko, Nathanael Hillyer, Alexander Norman; Bringing graphene into the undergraduate classroom. Am. J. Phys. 1 September 2024; 92 (9): 703–710. https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0164700
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