Encapsulated graphene field-effect transistors for air stable operation

Abstract

In this work, we report the fabrication of encapsulated graphene field effects transistors (GFETs) with excellent air stability operation in ambient environment. Graphene's 2D nature makes its electronics properties very sensitive to the surrounding environment, and thus, non-encapsulated graphene devices show extensive vulnerability due to unintentional hole doping from the presence of water molecules and oxygen limiting their performance and use in real world applications. Encapsulating GFETs with a thin layer of parylene-C and aluminum deposited on top of the exposed graphene channel area resulted in devices with excellent electrical performance stability for an extended period of time. Moisture penetration is reduced significantly and carrier mobility degraded substantially less when compared to non-encapsulated control devices. Our CMOS compatible encapsulation method minimizes the problems of environmental doping and lifetime performance degradation, enabling the operation of air stable devices for next generation graphene-based electronics.