Letter abstract
Nature Nanotechnology 3, 206 - 209 (2008)
Published online: 23 March 2008 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.58
Subject Category: Electronic properties and devices
Intrinsic and extrinsic performance limits of graphene devices on SiO2
Jian-Hao Chen1,2,3, Chaun Jang2,3, Shudong Xiao2,3, Masa Ishigami2,3 & Michael S. Fuhrer1,2,3
Abstract
The linear dispersion relation in graphene1, 2 gives rise to a surprising prediction: the resistivity due to isotropic scatterers, such as white-noise disorder3 or phonons4, 5, 6, 7, 8, is independent of carrier density, n. Here we show that electron–acoustic phonon scattering4, 5, 6 is indeed independent of n, and contributes only 30 
to graphene's room-temperature resistivity. At a technologically relevant carrier density of 1 
1012 cm-2, we infer a mean free path for electron–acoustic phonon scattering of >2 
m and an intrinsic mobility limit of 2 105 cm2 V-1 s-1. If realized, this mobility would exceed that of InSb, the inorganic semiconductor with the highest known mobility (
7.7 104 cm2 V-1 s-1; ref. 9) and that of semiconducting carbon nanotubes (1 105 cm2 V-1 s-1; ref. 10). A strongly temperature-dependent resistivity contribution is observed above 200 K (ref. 8); its magnitude, temperature dependence and carrier-density dependence are consistent with extrinsic scattering by surface phonons at the SiO2 substrate11, 12 and limit the room-temperature mobility to 4 104 cm2 V-1 s-1, indicating the importance of substrate choice for graphene devices13.
- Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
- Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
Correspondence to: Masa Ishigami2,3 Present address: Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Boulevard, Orlando, Florida 32816-2385, USA
Correspondence to: Michael S. Fuhrer1,2,3 e-mail: mfuhrer@umd.edu
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