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A facile tool for the characterization of two-dimensional materials grown by chemical vapor deposition

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Abstract

The metrology of two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene, boron nitride or molybdenum disulfide grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is critical for the optimization of their synthesis. We demonstrate the use of film-induced frustrated etching (FIFE) as a facile, scalable method to reveal and quantify structural defects in continuous thin sheets. The sensitivity of the analysis technique to intentionally induced lattice defects in graphene compares favorably to the sensitivity of Raman spectroscopy. A strong correlation between the measured defectiveness and the maximum carrier mobility in graphene emphasizes the importance of the technique for growth optimization. Due to its ease and widespread availability, we anticipate that FIFE will find wide application in the characterization of CVD-synthesized 2D materials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139-4307, USA

    Mario Hofmann & Jing Kong

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139-4307, USA

    Yong Cheol Shin

  3. Graduate Institute of Opto-Mechatronics, Chung-Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan

    Ya-Ping Hsieh

  4. Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139-4307, USA

    Mildred S. Dresselhaus

Authors
  1. Mario Hofmann
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  2. Yong Cheol Shin
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  3. Ya-Ping Hsieh
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  4. Mildred S. Dresselhaus
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  5. Jing Kong
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Correspondence to Jing Kong.

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Hofmann, M., Shin, Y.C., Hsieh, YP. et al. A facile tool for the characterization of two-dimensional materials grown by chemical vapor deposition. Nano Res. 5, 504–511 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-012-0227-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-012-0227-0

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