Laser-Induced Solid-Phase Doped Graphene

There have been numerous efforts to improve the performance of graphene-based electronic devices by chemical doping. Most studies have focused on gas-phase doping with chemical vapor deposition. However, that requires a complicated transfer process that causes undesired doping and defects by residual polymers. Here, we report a solid-phase synthesis of doped graphene by means of silicon carbide (SiC) substrate including a dopant source driven by pulsed laser irradiation. This method provides in situ direct growth of doped graphene on an insulating SiC substrate without a transfer step. A numerical simulation on the temperature history of the SiC surface during laser irradiation reveals that the surface temperature of SiC can be accurately controlled to grow nitrogen doped graphene from the thermal decomposition of nitrogen doped SiC. Laser induced solid phase doped graphene is highly promising for the realization of graphene-based nanoelectronics with desired functionalities.