• 文献标题:   Seamless Staircase Electrical Contact to Semiconducting Graphene Nanoribbons
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   MA CX, LIANG LB, XIAO ZC, PURETZKY AA, HONG KL, LU WC, MEUNIER V, BERNHOLC J, LI AP
  • 作者关键词:   electrical contact, graphene nanoribbon, heterostructure, staircase, scanning tunneling microscopy, vibrational mode
  • 出版物名称:   NANO LETTERS
  • ISSN:   1530-6984 EI 1530-6992
  • 通讯作者地址:   Oak Ridge Natl Lab
  • 被引频次:   24
  • DOI:   10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b02938
  • 出版年:   2017

▎ 摘  要

Electrical contact to low-dimensional (low-D) materials is a key to their electronic applications. Traditional metal contacts to low-D semiconductors typically create gap states that can pin the Fermi level (E-F). However, low-D metals possessing a limited density of states at E-F can enable gate-tunable work functions and contact barriers. Moreover, a seamless contact with native bonds at the interface, without localized interfacial states, can serve as an optimal electrode. To realize such a seamless contact, one needs to develop atomically precise heterojunctions from the atom up. Here, we demonstrate an all-carbon staircase contact to ultranarrow armchair graphene nanoribbons (aGNRs). The coherent heterostructures of width-variable aGNRs, consisting of 7, 14, 21, and up to 56 carbon atoms across the width, are synthesized by a surface-assisted self-assembly process with a single molecular precursor. The aGNRs exhibit characteristic vibrational modes in Raman spectroscopy. A combined scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory study reveals the native covalent-bond nature and quasi-metallic contact characteristics of the interfaces. Our electronic measurements of such seamless GNR staircase constitute a promising first step toward making low resistance contacts.