Graphene nanostructures are potential building blocks for nanoelectronic and spintronic devices. However, the production of monolayer graphene nanostructures with well-defined zigzag edges remains a challenge. In this paper, we report the patterning of monolayer graphene nanostructures with zigzag edges on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) substrates by an anisotropic etching technique. We found that hydrogen plasma etching of monolayer graphene on h-BN is highly anisotropic due to the inert and ultra-flat nature of the h-BN surface, resulting in zigzag edge formation. The as-fabricated zigzag-edged monolayer graphene nanoribbons (Z-GNRs) with widths below 30 nm show high carrier mobility and width-dependent energy gaps at liquid helium temperature. These high quality Z-GNRs are thus ideal structures for exploring their valleytronic or spintronic properties.
Skip Nav Destination
Patterning monolayer graphene with zigzag edges on hexagonal boron nitride by anisotropic etching
Article navigation
1 August 2016
Research Article|
August 01 2016
Patterning monolayer graphene with zigzag edges on hexagonal boron nitride by anisotropic etching
Guole Wang;
Guole Wang
1
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics
, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Shuang Wu;
Shuang Wu
1
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics
, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Tingting Zhang;
Tingting Zhang
1
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics
, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Peng Chen;
Peng Chen
1
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics
, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Xiaobo Lu;
Xiaobo Lu
1
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics
, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Shuopei Wang;
Shuopei Wang
1
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics
, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Duoming Wang;
Duoming Wang
1
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics
, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Kenji Watanabe
;
Kenji Watanabe
2
National Institute for Materials Science
, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan
Search for other works by this author on:
Takashi Taniguchi;
Takashi Taniguchi
2
National Institute for Materials Science
, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan
Search for other works by this author on:
Dongxia Shi;
Dongxia Shi
1
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics
, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Rong Yang;
Rong Yang
a)
1
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics
, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Guangyu Zhang
Guangyu Zhang
a)
1
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics
, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
3
Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter
, Beijing 100190, China
4
Beijing Key Laboratory for Nanomaterials and Nanodevices
, Beijing 100190, China
Search for other works by this author on:
a)
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic addresses: ryang@iphy.ac.cn and gyzhang@iphy.ac.cn.
Appl. Phys. Lett. 109, 053101 (2016)
Article history
Received:
May 06 2016
Accepted:
June 14 2016
Citation
Guole Wang, Shuang Wu, Tingting Zhang, Peng Chen, Xiaobo Lu, Shuopei Wang, Duoming Wang, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Dongxia Shi, Rong Yang, Guangyu Zhang; Patterning monolayer graphene with zigzag edges on hexagonal boron nitride by anisotropic etching. Appl. Phys. Lett. 1 August 2016; 109 (5): 053101. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4959963
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionPay-Per-View Access
$40.00