Graphene device and method of using graphene device
An embodiment of a graphene device includes a layered structure, first and second electrodes, and a dopant island. The layered structure includes a conductive layer, an insulating layer, and a graphene layer. The electrodes are coupled to the graphene layer. The dopant island is coupled to an exposed surface of the graphene layer between the electrodes. An embodiment of a method of using a graphene device includes providing the graphene device. A voltage is applied to the conductive layer of the graphene device. Another embodiment of a method of using a graphene device includes providing the graphene device without the dopant island. A dopant island is placed on an exposed surface of the graphene layer between the electrodes. A voltage is applied to the conductive layer of the graphene device. A response of the dopant island to the voltage is observed.
1. A graphene device comprising:
a base material;
a graphene layer disposed on the base material, the graphene layer being a planar graphene layer including a first side and a second side, the first side of the graphene layer being disposed on the base material, and the first side and the second side of the graphene layer being insulated from one another by intercalated atoms or molecules;
a first electrode disposed on the second side of the graphene layer;
a second electrode disposed on the second side of the graphene layer; and
a first dopant island disposed on the second side of the graphene layer between the first and the second electrodes.
2. The graphene device of claim 1 wherein the second side of the graphene layer comprises a single-layer of graphene.
3. The graphene device of claim 1 wherein the second side of the graphene layer comprises a few layers of graphene.
4. The graphene device of claim 1 wherein the first dopant island is selected from the group consisting of a superconducting material, a ferromagnetic material, an antiferromagnetic material, a photovoltaic material, a plasmonic material, a spintronic material, an organic material, and a biological material.
5. The graphene device of claim 1 further comprising:
a plurality of dopant islands disposed on the second side of the graphene layer between the first and the second electrodes, the first dopant island being one of the plurality of dopant islands.
6. The graphene device of claim 5 wherein the plurality of dopant islands comprise a superconducting material.
7. The graphene device of claim 5 wherein an average separation distance between dopant islands of the plurality of dopant islands is less than an average dopant island dimension parallel to the graphene layer.
8. The graphene device of claim 7 wherein the average separation distance between the dopant islands is less than three-quarters the average dopant island dimension parallel to the graphene layer.
9. The graphene device of claim 7 wherein the average separation distance between the dopant islands is less than one-half the average dopant island dimension parallel to the graphene layer.
10. The graphene device of claim 5 wherein dopant islands of the plurality of dopant islands have a dimension parallel to the graphene layer of at least 2 nanometers.
11. The graphene device of claim 10 wherein the dopant islands have a dimension parallel to the graphene layer of at least 5 nanometers.
12. The graphene device of claim 10 wherein the dopant islands have a dimension parallel to the graphene layer of at least 10 nanometers.
13. The graphene device of claim 5 wherein dopant islands of the plurality of dopant islands are separated from others of the dopant islands by at least 1 nanometer.
14. The graphene device of claim 13 wherein the dopant islands are separated from others of the dopant islands by at least 2 nanometers.
15. The graphene device of claim 13 wherein the dopant islands are separated from others of the dopant islands by at least 5 nanometers.
16. The graphene device of claim 1 wherein the base material comprises an insulator.
17. A method of using a graphene device comprising:
providing the graphene device comprising:
a base material;
a graphene layer disposed on the base material, the graphene layer being a planar graphene layer including a first side and a second side, the first side of the graphene layer being disposed on the base material, and the first side and the second side of the graphene layer being insulated from one another by intercalated atoms or molecules;
a first electrode disposed on the second side of the graphene layer;
a second electrode disposed on the second side of the graphene layer; and
a first dopant island disposed on the second side of the graphene layer between the first and the second electrodes; and
applying a voltage to the first side of the graphene layer.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein the first dopant island is selected from the group consisting of a superconducting material, a ferromagnetic material, an antiferromagnetic material, a photovoltaic material, a plasmonic material, a spintronic material, an organic material, and a biological material.
19. The method of claim 17 wherein the first dopant island comprises a superconducting material.
20. The method of claim 19 further comprising:
operating the graphene device as a device selected from the group consisting of a superconducting field effect transistor, a superconducting photon detector, a particle detector, a magnetometer, and a superconducting mechanical device.
21. The method of claim 17 wherein the first dopant island comprises a chemically sensitive material.
22. The method of claim 21 further comprising:
operating the graphene device as a chemical detector.
23. The method of claim 17 further comprising:
observing a response of the first dopant island to the voltage.
24. The method of claim 23 wherein the first dopant island is selected from the group consisting of a superconducting material, a ferromagnetic material, an antiferromagnetic material, a photovoltaic material, a plasmonic material, a spintronic material, an organic material, and a biological material.
25. The method of claim 23 wherein the observing comprises observing the response in a microscope.
26. The method of claim 25 wherein the microscope comprises an electron microscope.
27. The method of claim 25 wherein the microscope comprises a scanning probe microscope.
28. The method of claim 17 wherein the base material comprises an insulator.