High-resolution spatial mapping of the temperature distribution of a Joule self-heated graphene nanoribbon

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution scanning thermal microscopy to map temperature distributions in Joule self-heated graphene nanoribbons, revealing heat dissipation pathways and hot spot formation at localized defect sites.

Contribution

It introduces a method combining SThM and Raman calibration for detailed thermal mapping of GNRs at sub-100 nm resolution.

Findings

Hot spots form at defect sites in GNRs.

Heat transport pathways are visualized.

Temperature distribution is mapped with high spatial resolution.

Abstract

We investigate the temperature distributions of Joule self-heated graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with a spatial resolution finer than 100 nm by scanning thermal microscopy (SThM). The SThM probe is calibrated using the Raman G mode Stokes/anti-Stokes intensity ratio as a function of electric power applied to the GNR devices. From a spatial map of the temperature distribution, heat dissipation and transport pathways are investigated. By combining SThM and scanning gate microscopy data from a defected GNR, we observe hot spot formation at well-defined, localized sites.