Role of Remote Interfacial Phonon (RIP) Scattering in Heat Transport Across Graphene/SiO2 Interfaces.

Heat transfer across interfaces of graphene and polar dielectrics (e.g., SiO2) could be mediated by direct phonon coupling, as well as electronic coupling with remote interfacial phonons (RIPs). To understand the relative contribution of each component, we develop a new pump-probe technique called voltage-modulated thermoreflectance (VMTR) to accurately measure the change of interfacial thermal conductance under an electrostatic field. We employed VMTR on top gates of graphene field-effect transistors and find that the thermal conductance of SiO2/graphene/SiO2 interfaces increases by up to ΔG ≈ 0.8 MW m-2 K-1 under electrostatic fields of <0.2 V nm-1. We propose two possible explanations for the small observed ΔG. First, because the applied electrostatic field induces charge carriers in graphene, our VMTR measurements could originate from heat transfer between the charge carriers in graphene and RIPs in SiO2. Second, the increase in heat conduction could be caused by better conformity of graphene interfaces under electrostatic pressure exerted by the induced charge carriers. Regardless of the origins of the observed ΔG, our VMTR measurements establish an upper limit for heat transfer from unbiased graphene to SiO2 substrates via RIP scattering; for example, only <2% of the interfacial heat transport is facilitated by RIP scattering even at a carrier concentration of ∼4 × 1012 cm-2.

Improved Contacts to MoS2 Transistors by Ultra-High Vacuum Metal Deposition.

The scaling of transistors to sub-10 nm dimensions is strongly limited by their contact resistance (RC). Here we present a systematic study of scaling MoS2 devices and contacts with varying electrode metals and controlled deposition conditions, over a wide range of temperatures (80 to 500 K), carrier densities (10(12) to 10(13) cm(-2)), and contact dimensions (20 to 500 nm). We uncover that Au deposited in ultra-high vacuum (∼10(-9) Torr) yields three times lower RC than under normal conditions, reaching 740 Ω·µm and specific contact resistivity 3 × 10(-7) Ω·cm(2), stable for over four months. Modeling reveals separate RC contributions from the Schottky barrier and the series access resistance, providing key insights on how to further improve scaling of MoS2 contacts and transistor dimensions. The contact transfer length is ∼35 nm at 300 K, which is verified experimentally using devices with 20 nm contacts and 70 nm contact pitch (CP), equivalent to the "14 nm" technology node.

Bright visible light emission from graphene.

Graphene and related two-dimensional materials are promising candidates for atomically thin, flexible and transparent optoelectronics. In particular, the strong light-matter interaction in graphene has allowed for the development of state-of-the-art photodetectors, optical modulators and plasmonic devices. In addition, electrically biased graphene on SiO2 substrates can be used as a low-efficiency emitter in the mid-infrared range. However, emission in the visible range has remained elusive. Here, we report the observation of bright visible light emission from electrically biased suspended graphene devices. In these devices, heat transport is greatly reduced. Hot electrons (∼2,800 K) therefore become spatially localized at the centre of the graphene layer, resulting in a 1,000-fold enhancement in thermal radiation efficiency. Moreover, strong optical interference between the suspended graphene and substrate can be used to tune the emission spectrum. We also demonstrate the scalability of this technique by realizing arrays of chemical-vapour-deposited graphene light emitters. These results pave the way towards the realization of commercially viable large-scale, atomically thin, flexible and transparent light emitters and displays with low operation voltage and graphene-based on-chip ultrafast optical communications.

High-field electrical and thermal transport in suspended graphene.

We study the intrinsic transport properties of suspended graphene devices at high fields (≥1 V/µm) and high temperatures (≥1000 K). Across 15 samples, we find peak (average) saturation velocity of 3.6 × 10(7) cm/s (1.7 × 10(7) cm/s) and peak (average) thermal conductivity of 530 W m(-1) K(-1) (310 W m(-1) K(-1)) at 1000 K. The saturation velocity is 2-4 times and the thermal conductivity 10-17 times greater than in silicon at such elevated temperatures. However, the thermal conductivity shows a steeper decrease at high temperature than in graphite, consistent with stronger effects of second-order three-phonon scattering. Our analysis of sample-to-sample variation suggests the behavior of "cleaner" devices most closely approaches the intrinsic high-field properties of graphene. This study reveals key features of charge and heat flow in graphene up to device breakdown at ~2230 K in vacuum, highlighting remaining unknowns under extreme operating conditions.

Stacked graphene-Al2O3 nanopore sensors for sensitive detection of DNA and DNA-protein complexes.

We report the development of a multilayered graphene-Al(2)O(3) nanopore platform for the sensitive detection of DNA and DNA-protein complexes. Graphene-Al(2)O(3) nanolaminate membranes are formed by sequentially depositing layers of graphene and Al(2)O(3), with nanopores being formed in these membranes using an electron-beam sculpting process. The resulting nanopores are highly robust, exhibit low electrical noise (significantly lower than nanopores in pure graphene), are highly sensitive to electrolyte pH at low KCl concentrations (attributed to the high buffer capacity of Al(2)O(3)), and permit the electrical biasing of the embedded graphene electrode, thereby allowing for three terminal nanopore measurements. In proof-of-principle biomolecule sensing experiments, the folded and unfolded transport of single DNA molecules and RecA-coated DNA complexes could be discerned with high temporal resolution. The process described here also enables nanopore integration with new graphene-based structures, including nanoribbons and nanogaps, for single-molecule DNA sequencing and medical diagnostic applications.

Scaling of high-field transport and localized heating in graphene transistors.

We use infrared thermal imaging and electrothermal simulations to find that localized Joule heating in graphene field-effect transistors on SiO(2) is primarily governed by device electrostatics. Hot spots become more localized (i.e., sharper) as the underlying oxide thickness is reduced, such that the average and peak device temperatures scale differently, with significant long-term reliability implications. The average temperature is proportional to oxide thickness, but the peak temperature is minimized at an oxide thickness of ∼90 nm due to competing electrostatic and thermal effects. We also find that careful comparison of high-field transport models with thermal imaging can be used to shed light on velocity saturation effects. The results shed light on optimizing heat dissipation and reliability of graphene devices and interconnects.