School of Physics Colloquium Series: Dr. Walt De Heer, Georgia Tech

The original concept of graphene electronics focused on carbon nanotube properties. Carbon nanotubes were known to be high mobility ballistic, phase coherent conductors and quantum confinement effects produced significant bandgaps. However, it turns out to be very difficult to develop nanotube electronics platform for a variety of reasons including fundamental physical constraints related to the quantum mechanical properties of the metal-to-nanotube contacts. Graphene electronics can in principle overcome the major problems because graphene structures can be patterned using conventional lithography and dissipation at contacts can be controlled. However, these developments rely on the premise that narrow, ballistic graphene ribbons can be produced. Experiments on conventionally patterned graphene structures produced from graphene that is deposited on insulating substrates have been discouraging. The graphene ribbon mobilities are so low due to edge roughness effects, to render this direction to be impracticable.  On the other hand, graphene produced on silicon carbide turns has been found to be more immune to edge scattering problems. Moreover, recent developments of template grown graphene structures on silicon carbide are promising. Very narrow ballistic graphene ribbons that demonstrate ballistic transport properties, have been produced with these methods which again brings the original concept of graphene based nanoelectronics back into play.