Final Report Summary - GQEMS (Graphene Quantum Electromechanical Systems)
For this purpose, we made use of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) and developed a new process technology to extend their regime of operation to low-temperatures, making them suitable for fundamental studies. By integrating graphene into low-temperature MEMS actuators, we realized a unique platform for the development of electromechanical systems with integrated graphene. Most remarkably, we showed how to induce well-controlled tunable strain fields and strain gradients in graphene, opening the way to the investigation of tunable pseudo-magnetic fields and their potential applications.
Moreover, we obtained a real breakthrough in understanding the role of local (nanometer-scale) strain variations as the ultimate limiting factor for the mobility of charge carriers in graphene. We also demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy is an efficient and non-invasive way of probing nanometer-scale strain variations, and therefore of assessing the structural and electronic quality of graphene. These two results have been instrumental for the development of a novel fabrication technology based on synthetic graphene that yields the largest high-mobility samples currently available worldwide and that is in principle scalable for industrial applications.