One of the key papers in the Research
Front on Graphene Nanoribbons (which has beenmapped
), part of our Special Topic on Graphene, is "Graphene
nano-ribbon electronics," (Chen ZH, et al., Physica E
40[2]: 228-32, December 2007), which has garnered 39
citations since its publication and up to August 31,
2008.
Lead author Dr. Zhihong Chen is the Manager of the
Carbon Technology Group at the IBM T.J. Watson Research
Center. InEssential
Science IndicatorsSMfromThomson
Reuters, her papers can be found in the fields
of Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, and
Engineering.
In the interview
below, ScienceWatch.com talks with Dr. Chen about
this paper and its significance in the field of graphene
research.
Would you please describe the significance of
your paper and why it
is highly cited?
In our paper, we demonstrated one of the first graphene nano-ribbon devices
with channel width down to 20nm and showed the possibility of opening up a
band gap in this semi-metal material. We also discussed the impact of the
ribbon edges on device transport. Opening a band gap, which can strongly
impact the technological values of graphene in many electronic
applications, is an important topic in the graphene field. Many researchers
are looking into this direction and realizing that the ribbon edges play
important roles in device characteristics. Our paper provided the first
experimental evidence and led to further research and discussions.
How did you become involved in this research, and
were there any particular successes or obstacles that stand
out?
I have been working on carbon nanotubes for many years. When the first
graphene paper, by Prof. Geim's group from the University of Manchester,
came out in 2005, I noticed the close relationship between nanotubes and
graphene and immediately identified the importance of creating a band gap
in graphene. I started doing research along this path in 2006. Patterning
graphene into nano-ribbons turned out to be quite smooth and we got our
first set of electrical data at the end of 2006.
Where do you see your research and the
broader field leading in the future?
If we can identify a method to create a larger band gap in graphene and
eliminate the edge effects in the transport, I expect to see more research
activities on graphene towards electronic applications like logic devices
and circuits. There is a strong urge to look for post-Si solutions;
graphene can be one of the most promising candidates for that application
if a large enough band gap can be created.
What are the implications of your work for this
field?
My work is one of the first experimental evidences that quantization can be
intentionally introduced to a two-dimensional system and create a
one-dimensional transport regime. Graphene is a material with excellent
electronic properties and, at the same time, is easy to integrate with
conventional semiconductor techniques. Of course, large-scale graphene
growth or deposition needs to be demonstrated with a good control on
thickness and material quality, in order to develop a practical technology
out of graphene.
Dr. Zhihong Chen
Carbon Technology Group
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598