Mechanically robust 39 GHz cut-off frequency graphene field effect transistors on flexible substrates

Graphene has been regarded as a promising candidate channel material for flexible devices operating at radio-frequency (RF). In this work we fabricated and fully characterized double bottom-gate graphene field effect transistors on flexible polymer substrates for high frequency applications. We report a record high as-measured current gain cut-off frequency (ft) of 39 GHz. The corresponding maximum oscillation frequency (fmax) is 13.5 GHz. These state of the art high frequency performances are stable against bending, with a typical variation of around 10%, for a bending radius of up to 12 mm. To demonstrate the reliability of our devices, we performed a fatigue stress test for RF-GFETs which were dynamically bend tested 1000 times at 1 Hz. The devices are mechanically robust, and performances are stable with typical variations of 15%. Finally we investigate thermal dissipation, which is a critical parameter for flexible electronics. We show that at the optimum polarization the normalized power dissipated by the GFETs is about 0.35 mW μm(-2) and that the substrate temperature is around 200 degree centigrade. At a higher power, irreversible degradations of the performances are observed. Our study on state of the art flexible GFETs demonstrates mechanical robustness and stability upon heating, two important elements to assess the potential of GFETs for flexible electronics.

Temperature dependence of electric transport in few-layer graphene under large charge doping induced by electrochemical gating

The temperature dependence of electric transport properties of single-layer and few-layer graphene at large charge doping is of great interest both for the study of the scattering processes dominating the conductivity at different temperatures and in view of the theoretically predicted possibility to reach the superconducting state in such extreme conditions. Here we present the results obtained in 3-, 4- and 5-layer graphene devices down to 3.5 K, where a large surface charge density up to about 6.8·10¹⁴ cm⁻² has been reached by employing a novel polymer electrolyte solution for the electrochemical gating. In contrast with recent results obtained in single-layer graphene, the temperature dependence of the sheet resistance between 20 K and 280 K shows a low-temperature dominance of a T² component – that can be associated with electron-electron scattering – and, at about 100 K, a crossover to the classic electron-phonon regime. Unexpectedly, this crossover does not show any dependence on the induced charge density, i.e. on the large tuning of the Fermi energy.

Science and technology roadmap for graphene, related two-dimensional crystals, and hybrid systems

We present the science and technology roadmap for graphene, related two-dimensional crystals, and hybrid systems, targeting an evolution in technology, that might lead to impacts and benefits reaching into most areas of society. This roadmap was developed within the framework of the European Graphene Flagship and outlines the main targets and research areas as best understood at the start of this ambitious project. We provide an overview of the key aspects of graphene and related materials (GRMs), ranging from fundamental research challenges to a variety of applications in a large number of sectors, highlighting the steps necessary to take GRMs from a state of raw potential to a point where they might revolutionize multiple industries. We also define an extensive list of acronyms in an effort to standardize the nomenclature in this emerging field.

Ultrafast graphene oxide humidity sensors

Sensors allow an electronic device to become a gateway between the digital and physical worlds, and sensor materials with unprecedented performance can create new applications and new avenues for user interaction. Graphene oxide can be exploited in humidity and temperature sensors with a number of convenient features such as flexibility, transparency and suitability for large-scale manufacturing. Here we show that the two-dimensional nature of graphene oxide and its superpermeability to water combine to enable humidity sensors with unprecedented response speed (∼30 ms response and recovery times). This opens the door to various applications, such as touchless user interfaces, which we demonstrate with a 'whistling' recognition analysis.

Huge (but finite) time scales in slow relaxations: beyond simple aging

Experiments performed in the last years demonstrated slow relaxations and aging in the conductance of a large variety of materials. Here, we present experimental and theoretical results for conductance relaxation and aging for the case-study example of porous silicon. The relaxations are experimentally observed even at room temperature over time scales of hours, and when a strong electric field is applied for a time tw, the ensuing relaxation depends on tw. We derive a theoretical curve and show that all experimental data collapse onto it with a single time scale as a fitting parameter. This time scale is found to be of the order of thousands of seconds at room temperature. The generic theory suggested is not fine-tuned to porous silicon, and thus we believe the results should be universal, and the presented method should be applicable for many other systems manifesting memory and other glassy effects.

Experimental observation of glassy dynamics driven by gas adsorption on porous silicon

We report on electrical resistance measurements of mesoporous silicon samples at room temperature, in the presence of various dosages of ammonia, showing very slow non-exponential responses of the system to any variation of ammonia pressure. Resistance always relaxes according to a stretched exponential law, independently of the sign of the variation. Moreover, the system remembers its own history, and memory effects can be accounted for in a very simple way in the framework of the same relaxation law. A possible extrinsic scenario based on rearrangement of trapped charges is proposed and discussed. These findings suggest that mesoporous silicon in the presence of polar molecules may be regarded as a suitable system for the study of glassy dynamics by means of electrical measurements at RT.

FORTRAN Interface for Code Interoperability in Quantum Chemistry: The Q5Cost Library

Ab initio quantum-chemistry programs produce and use large amounts of data, which are usually stored on disk in the form of binary files. A FORTRAN library, named Q5Cost, has been designed and implemented in order to allow the storage of these data sets in a special data format built with the HDF5 technology. This data format allows the data to be represented as tree structures and is portable between different platforms and operating systems, making code interoperability and communication much easier. The libraries have been used to build many interfaces among different quantum chemistry codes, and the first scientific applications have been realized. This activity was carried out within the COST in Chemistry D23 project "MetaChem", in the Working Group "A meta-laboratory for code integration in ab initio methods".

Writing 3D protein nanopatterns onto a silicon nanosponge

A three-dimensional protein nanopatterning method has been developed, based on local activation of porous silicon by electron beam. Proteins specifically bind to irradiated regions, and the depth of biomolecule nanopatterns can be controlled by varying the electron energy. This unique feature permits exploitation of the huge surface area of the sponge-like material, thus allowing concentration of a large amount of proteins on nanosized patterns. Moreover, the grafted biomolecules retain their full functionality, and the feasibility of a glucose sensor has been demonstrated.

Ab initio n-electron valence state perturbation theory study of the adiabatic transitions in carbonyl molecules: Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acetone

The application of the recently developed second-order n-electron valence state perturbation theory (NEVPT2) to small carbonyl molecules (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acetone) is presented. The adiabatic transition energies are computed for the singlet and triplet n-->pi(*), pi-->pi(*), and sigma-->pi(*) states performing a full geometry optimization of the relevant states at the single state CASSCF level and taking into account the zero point energy correction in the harmonic approximation. The agreement with the known experimental values and with previously published high level calculations confirms that NEVPT2 is an efficient tool to be used for the interpretation of molecular electronic spectra. Moreover, different insight into the nature of the excited states has been obtained. Some of the transitions presented here have never been theoretically computed previously [(3)(pi-->pi(*)) and (3)(sigma-->pi(*)) adiabatic transitions in acetaldehyde and acetone] or have been studied only using moderate level (single reference based) ab initio methods (all adiabatic transitions in acetaldehyde). In the present work a consistent disagreement between NEVPT2 and experiment has been found for the (3)(pi-->pi(*)) adiabatic transition in all molecules: this result is attributed to the low intensity of the transition to the first vibrational levels of the excited state. The n-->pi(*) singlet and triplet vertical transition energies are also reported for all the molecules.

A combined freeze-and-cut strategy for the description of large molecular systems using a localized orbitals approach

A technique to reduce the computational effort in calculating ab initio energies using a localized orbitals approach is presented. By exploiting freeze strategy at the self-consistent field (SCF) level and a cut of the unneeded atomic orbitals, it is possible to perform a localized complete active space (CAS-SCF) calculation on a reduced system. This will open the possibility to perform ab initio treatments on very large molecular systems, provided that the chemically important phenomena happen in a localized zone of the molecule. Two test cases are discussed, to illustrate the performance of the method: the cis-trans interconversion curves for the (7Z)-13 ammoniotridec-7-enoate, which demonstrates the ability of the method to reproduce the interactions between charged groups; and the cisoid-transoid energy barrier for the aldehydic group in the C13 polyenal molecule.

A quasidegenerate formulation of the second order n-electron valence state perturbation theory approach

The n-electron valence state perturbation theory (NEVPT) is reformulated in a quasidegenerate (QD) approach. The new theory allows the treatment of cases where the proximity of the energies causes artifacts in the zero order description. Problems of quasidegeneration are relevant in the dynamics involving regions at avoided crossings (or conical intersections) and in spectroscopy where the energies and oscillator strengths can be strongly influenced by the mixing of states of different nature. Two test cases are analyzed concerning (a) the ionic-neutral avoided crossing in LiF and (b) the valence/Rydberg mixing in the excited states of ethene. The QD-NEVPT2 is shown to be a useful tool for such systems.

IR detection of NO2 using p+ porous silicon as a high sensitivity sensor

Mesoporous silicon doped with 3.0 x 10(19) B atoms cm-3 (p(+)-type) is an insulating material which dramatically increases its electrical conductivity when exposed to traces of gaseous NO2; nitrogen dioxide chemisorption at the surface generates carriers, the population of which is readily evaluated through the intensity of IR absorption.