Programmable Sub-nanometer Sculpting of Graphene with Electron Beams

Felix Börrnert †, Lei Fu ‡, Sandeep Gorantla †, Martin Knupfer †, Bernd Büchner †, and Mark H. Rümmeli *§

^† IFW Dresden, PF 27 01 16, 01171 Dresden, Germany

^‡ College of Chemistry and Molecular Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

^§ Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany

ACS Nano, Article ASAP

DOI: 10.1021/nn304256a

Publication Date (Web): October 30, 2012

Copyright © 2012 American Chemical Society

Electron beams in transmission electron microscopes are very attractive to engineer and pattern graphene toward all-carbon device fabrication. The use of condensed beams typically used for sequential raster imaging is particularly exciting since they potentially provide high degrees of precision. However, technical difficulties, such as the formation of electron beam induced deposits on sample surfaces, have hindered the development of this technique. We demonstrate how one can successfully use a condensed electron beam, either with or without C_s correction, to structure graphene with sub-nanometer precision in a programmable manner. We further demonstrate the potential of the developed technique by combining it with an established route to engineer graphene nanoribbons to single-atom carbon chains.