title: Electron-beam induced nano-etching of suspended graphene.
abstract: Besides its interesting physical properties, graphene as a two-dimensional lattice of carbon atoms promises to realize devices with exceptional electronic properties, where freely suspended graphene without contact to any substrate is the ultimate, truly two-dimensional system. The practical realization of nano-devices from suspended graphene, however, relies heavily on finding a structuring method which is minimally invasive. Here, we report on the first electron beam-induced nano-etching of suspended graphene and demonstrate high-resolution etching down to ~7 nm for line-cuts into the monolayer graphene. We investigate the structural quality of the etched graphene layer using two-dimensional (2D) Raman maps and demonstrate its high electronic quality in a nano-device: A 25 nm-wide suspended graphene nanoribbon (GNR) that shows a transport gap with a corresponding energy of ~60 meV. This is an important step towards fast and reliable patterning of suspended graphene for future ballistic transport, nano-electronic and nano-mechanical devices.
authors.affiliation: Fakultät für Physik and CENIDE, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg 47048, Germany.
authors.forename: Benedikt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.affiliation: Fakultät für Physik and CENIDE, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg 47048, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sonntag
authors.affiliation: Fakultät für Physik and CENIDE, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg 47048, Germany.
authors.forename: Arkadius
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ganczarczyk
authors.affiliation: Fakultät für Physik and CENIDE, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg 47048, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Braam
authors.affiliation: Fakultät für Physik and CENIDE, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg 47048, Germany.
authors.forename: Günther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Prinz
authors.affiliation: Fakultät für Physik and CENIDE, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg 47048, Germany.
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lorke
authors.affiliation: Fakultät für Physik and CENIDE, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg 47048, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Geller