Spatially resolved pump-probe study of single-layer graphene produced by chemical vapor deposition

TL;DR

This study uses spatially and temporally resolved pump-probe spectroscopy to investigate carrier dynamics in CVD-grown single-layer graphene, revealing hot carrier diffusion, unexpected profile expansion slowdown, and effects of laser exposure on optical signals.

Contribution

It provides new insights into carrier behavior in CVD graphene and highlights the influence of fabrication residues on optical measurements.

Findings

Hot carrier diffusion rate of 5500 cm²/s observed.

Carrier density profile expansion slows within 1 ps, unexpectedly.

Sign change in differential signals can be permanently removed by high-fluence laser exposure.

Abstract

Carrier dynamics in single-layer graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is studied using spatially and temporally resolved pump-probe spectroscopy by measuring both differential transmission and differential reflection. By studying the expansion of a Gaussian spatial profile of carriers excited by a 1500-nm pump pulse with a 1761-nm probe pulse, we observe a diffusion of hot carriers of 5500 square centimeter per second. We also observe that the expansion of the carrier density profile decreases to a slow rate within 1 ps, which is unexpected. Furthermore, by using an 810-nm probe pulse we observe that both the differential transmission and reflection change signs, but also that this sign change can be permanently removed by exposure of the graphene to femtosecond laser pulses of relatively high fluence. This indicates that the differential transmission and reflection at later times may not be directly caused by carriers, but may be from some residue material from the sample fabrication or transfer process.