Detector Capabilities of On-Chip Graphene

Abstract

The discovery of graphene production in the past decade has sparked thousands of research projects—and for good reason. Graphene, or mono-layered carbon, possesses many unique characteristics that offer boundless potential. This research aims to develop a better understanding and characterization of graphene’s electrical properties. Graphene has zero bandgap, allowing for high carrier mobility and low noise. In addition, graphene exhibits effective photon-absorption qualities at low frequencies as shown below in Figure 1. These features open an endless array of possibilities for integrated circuits (IC) use. Therefore, in addition to developing a better understanding of graphene, this research aims to incorporate graphene in high sensitivity, low-frequency sensors. An IC that has been used to test the graphene was fabricated in the summer. The low-frequency detector consists of the IC integrated with graphene. The transfer of graphene onto the IC, as well as the testing of the detector device, has been completed over the past two semesters. The experiments thus far have proven graphene’s ability to be incorporated into a low-frequency detector.