Nanolithography and manipulation of graphene using an atomic force microscope

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the use of an atomic force microscope to precisely manipulate and structure graphene at the nanoscale, enabling potential for graphene-based device fabrication.

Contribution

It introduces a novel AFM-based nanolithography technique for structuring graphene with sub-30 nm features and explores mechanical manipulation methods.

Findings

Trenches less than 30 nm wide can be created in graphene.

AFM-based oxidation enables nanoscale patterning.

Mechanical peeling and scratching affect graphene sheets on various substrates.

Abstract

We use an atomic force microscope (AFM) to manipulate graphene films on a nanoscopic length scale. By means of local anodic oxidation with an AFM we are able to structure isolating trenches into single-layer and few-layer graphene flakes, opening the possibility of tabletop graphene based device fabrication. Trench sizes of less than 30 nm in width are attainable with this technique. Besides oxidation we also show the influence of mechanical peeling and scratching with an AFM of few layer graphene sheets placed on different substrates.