Elastic properties of graphene suspended on a polymer substrate by e-beam exposure

Abstract

A method for fabricating multiple free-standing structures on the same sheet of graphene is demonstrated. Mechanically exfoliated mono- and bilayer graphene sheets were sandwiched between two layers of polymethylmethacrylate. Suspended areas were defined by e-beam exposure allowing precise control over their shape and position. Mechanical characterization of suspended graphene sheets was performed by nanoindentation with an atomic force microscopy tip. The obtained built-in tensions of 12nN are significantly lower than those in suspended graphene exfoliated on an SiO2 substrate, and therefore permit access to the intrinsic properties of this material system. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.