Final Report Summary - GRAPHENE (Physics and Applications of Graphene)
The current proposal is based on the recent work of the applicant in which a conceptually new class of materials – two dimensional (2D) atomic crystals – was discovered. Such crystals can be seen as individual atomic planes “pulled out” of bulk, 3D crystals and were previously presumed not to exist in the free state. Despite being only one atom thick and unprotected from the immediate environment, these materials can be extremely stable under ambient conditions. The applicant’s work has focused on graphene, a freestanding monolayer of graphite where carbon atoms are densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice. This material is truly exceptional by exhibiting so high crystal quality that electrons move without scattering over submicron distances even at room temperature. Due to its high quality and unique electronic spectrum that mimics relativistic quantum particles called Dirac fermions, graphene has become a gold mine for searching for new phenomena. Graphene also offers numerous applications from smart materials to future electronics, whose viability is actively assessed by many groups. We investigated graphene ballistic field effect transistors, single electron transistors, gas sensors and other electronic devices. Also, we studied the many-body phenomena in this material.