The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory has developed a method of using hyperthermal ion implantation as a means to substitutionally dope graphene with nitrogen atoms to produce a low-defect film with a tunable band structure.NRL said Monday the HyTII system was used to implant nitrogen into graphene to achieve doping via a direct substitution.
“In our study, we determined the range of hyperthermal ion energies that yielded the highest fraction of nitrogen doping, while minimizing defects,” said Cory Cress, NRL materials research engineer.
Adam Friedman, NRL research physicist, said the measurements of the devices worked to fabricate a graphene film with tunable bandgap, low defect density and high stability.
He also hypothesized the system has a potential for electronic or spintronic applications.
NRL noted the nitrogen implantation dose affects the transition of doping from strong to weak and alters the properties of the film.
The results of the study can be found on the ACS Nano 10 — where the fabrication method and efficient doping energy range were discussed — and the Physical Review B: Rapid Communications 93, NRL added.
