Oriented Graphene Nanoribbons Embedded in Hexagonal Boron Nitride Trenches

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel chemical vapour deposition method for growing high-quality, narrow graphene nanoribbons embedded in hexagonal boron nitride trenches, enabling their integration into semiconductor electronics.

Contribution

It introduces a template growth technique for in-plane epitaxy of GNRs on hBN substrates with controlled widths and smooth edges, advancing GNR integration in electronics.

Findings

GNRs grown directly on hBN with smooth edges

GNRs exhibit excellent electronic properties at room temperature

The method enables in-plane hetero-integration compatible with circuit processing

Abstract

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are ultra-narrow strips of graphene that have the potential to be used in high-performance graphene-based semiconductor electronics. However, controlled growth of GNRs on dielectric substrates remains a challenge. Here, we report the successful growth of GNRs directly on hexagonal boron nitride substrates with smooth edges and controllable widths using chemical vapour deposition. The approach is based on a type of template growth that allows for the in-plane epitaxy of mono-layered GNRs in nano-trenches on hexagonal boron nitride with edges following a zigzag direction. The embedded GNR channels show excellent electronic properties, even at room temperature. Such in-plane hetero-integration of GNRs, which is compatible with integrated circuit processing, creates a gapped channel with a width of a few benzene rings, enabling the development of digital integrated circuitry based on GNRs.