title: Visualizing electrical breakdown and ON/OFF states in electrically switchable suspended graphene break junctions.
abstract: Narrow gaps are formed in suspended single- to few-layer graphene devices using a pulsed electrical breakdown technique. The conductance of the resulting devices can be programmed by the application of voltage pulses, with voltages of 2.5 to ~4.5 V, corresponding to an ON pulse, and ~8 V, corresponding to an OFF pulse. Electron microscope imaging of the devices shows that the graphene sheets typically remain suspended and that the device conductance tends to zero when the observed gap is large. The switching rate is strongly temperature dependent, which rules out a purely electromechanical switching mechanism. This observed switching in suspended graphene devices strongly suggests a switching mechanism via atomic movement and/or chemical rearrangement and underscores the potential of all-carbon devices for integration with graphene electronics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wenzhong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Zeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Jhao-Wun
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Standley
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Fenglin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kratz
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bockrath
authors.forename: Chun Ning
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Lau