title: Elastic response of graphene nanodomes.
abstract: The mechanical behavior of a periodically buckled graphene membrane has been investigated by noncontact atomic force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum. When a graphene monolayer is grown on Ru(0001), a regular arrangement of 0.075 nm high nanodomes forming a honeycomb lattice with 3 nm periodicity forms spontaneously. This structure responds in a perfectly reversible way to relative normal displacements up to 0.12 nm. Indeed, the elasticity of the nanodomes is proven by realistic DFT calculations, with an estimated normal stiffness k∼40 N/m. Our observations extend previous results on macroscopic graphene samples and confirm that the elastic behavior of this material is maintained down to nanometer length scales, which is important for the development of new high-frequency (terahertz) electromechanical devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstr. 82, 4056 Basel, Switzerland. sascha.koch@unibas.ch
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stradi
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gnecco
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barja
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alcamí
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martín
authors.forename: Amadeo Lopez
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Vázquez de Parga
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: Thilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Glatzel
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D055119:Elastic Modulus; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D006108:Graphite