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Graphene Synthesis and Device Fabrication for Advanced Sensors and Electronics, Tobias Denig, Department of Chemical Engineering, West Virginia University
Because of its excellent electrical characteristics, graphene is a candidate for use in chemical and biological sensors as well as other microelectronics devices. For graphene to realize its potential, however, new synthesis routes and device fabrication methods are needed. In our research group we are investigating surface chemistry based methods of graphene production. In these studies, halogen based etching as well as thermal oxidation chemistries are used to produce C rich SiC surfaces which ultimately yield "few layer" graphene films. This approach has the very important advantage of being compatible with conventional electronics manufacturing methods. These novel synthesis avenues are being combined with extant semiconductor processing methods to produce several different device structures. Specifically, we are pursuing the development of a top-gated, graphene-based FET with a silicon nitride gate dielectric as well as chemical and biological sensors. These studies use a variety of techniques to characterize the materials and structures at each stage of the synthesis and fabrication processes. This allows the development of a fundamental understanding of the synthesis and fabrication processes themselves as well as an understanding the relationships between materials and device properties and processing conditions. These characterization methods include: x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, reflection high energy electron diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. This seminar will provide a brief overview of the motives underlying current interest in graphene, its broader potential, methods of synthesis and device fabrication, and the status of our ongoing research.
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