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The shear mode of multilayer graphene

Nature Materials volume 11, pages 294–300 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

The quest for materials capable of realizing the next generation of electronic and photonic devices continues to fuel research on the electronic, optical and vibrational properties of graphene. Few-layer graphene (FLG) flakes with less than ten layers each show a distinctive band structure. Thus, there is an increasing interest in the physics and applications of FLGs. Raman spectroscopy is one of the most useful and versatile tools to probe graphene samples. Here, we uncover the interlayer shear mode of FLGs, ranging from bilayer graphene (BLG) to bulk graphite, and suggest that the corresponding Raman peak measures the interlayer coupling. This peak scales from ~43 cm−1 in bulk graphite to ~31 cm−1 in BLG. Its low energy makes it sensitive to near-Dirac point quasiparticles. Similar shear modes are expected in all layered materials, providing a direct probe of interlayer interactions.

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Figure 1: Raman set-up and spectra of supported and suspended multilayers.
Figure 2: Raman spectra and fits of the C and G peaks as a function of number of layers.
Figure 3: Normal mode displacements and anharmonic decay channels.
Figure 4: BWF lineshape of the C peak.

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Acknowledgements

We thank E. McCann, M. Koshino and T. Thonhauser for useful discussions. This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) Grant No. G2009CB929301; National Science Foundation of China grants 10934007, 10874177, 10874175, 60878025; European Research Council grants NANOPOTS and BIHSNAM; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grant EP/G042357/1; a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award; European Union grants RODIN and Marie Curie ITN-GENIUS (PITN- GA-2010-264694); and Nokia Research Centre, Cambridge.

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Author notes

  1. N. Bonini and N. Marzari is a Present Addresses: Department of Physics, King’s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, UK (N.B.); Theory and Simulation of Materials, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland (N.M.)

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Superlattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China

    P. H. Tan, W. P. Han, W. J. Zhao, Z. H. Wu & K. Chang

  2. Department of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China

    H. Wang & Y. F. Wang

  3. Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH, UK

    N. Bonini & N. Marzari

  4. Department of Structural Engineering and Geotechnics, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy

    N. Pugno

  5. Engineering Department, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB3 OFA, UK

    N. Pugno, G. Savini, A. Lombardo & A. C. Ferrari

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  1. P. H. Tan
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Contributions

A.C.F. and P.H.T. conceived the project. P.H.T. designed the measurement set-up. P.H.T., W.P.H., W.J.Z and A.L. prepared the samples and performed spectroscopic measurements and analysis. N.B., N.M., G.S., Z.H.W., H.W., K.C., Y.F.W., N.P., P.H.T. and A.C.F. performed ab initio calculations and analytic modelling. A.C.F., P.H.T., N.B. and N.M. wrote the paper.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to P. H. Tan or A. C. Ferrari.

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Tan, P., Han, W., Zhao, W. et al. The shear mode of multilayer graphene. Nature Mater 11, 294–300 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3245

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