Strain Engineering in Graphene at the Nanometer Scale

TL;DR

This paper shows how to create and control strain in graphene at the nanometer scale using silicon nanoparticles and scanning tunneling microscopy.

Contribution

A method for precise strain engineering in 2D materials using STM-controlled nanoparticle manipulation.

Findings

Strain in graphene is confined to a few nanometers around Si nanoparticles.

Strain fields were mapped using the moiré pattern as a magnifying lens.

STM tip manipulation allows precise strain engineering at the nanometer scale.

Abstract

The ability to induce and characterize strain in the
atomic lattice
of 2D materials, localized within only a few nanometers around specific
positions, is a major challenge for the development of straintronics.
In this work, the interaction between Si nanoparticles and the surface
of graphene/Ru(0001) is employed to induce local strain in the latter.
The strain field has been mapped at the nanoscale by scanning tunneling
microscopy (STM), using the moiré pattern intrinsic to graphene/Ru(0001)
surfaces as a magnifying lens. The induced strain is found to be confined
within only a few nanometers around each nanoparticle. To achieve
more accurate control, strain engineering at the nanometer scale was
successfully performed by manipulating nanoparticles through the STM
tip. This approach to controlled strain could provide a key tool for
exploring new physics arising from strain in 2D materials.

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