Abstract
The contact resistance is a key bottleneck limiting the performance of graphene-based electronic and optoelectronic devices. Using a combined approach of atomic force microscopy patterning, Kelvin probe force microscopy and micro-Raman mapping, we study the influence of optical lithography resists on the contact resistance in graphene devices. We find that devices fabricated by optical lithography show a significantly larger contact resistance compared to devices produced by electron beam lithography using polymethylmethacrylate as resist. This difference is attributed to a 3–4-nm-thick residual layer remaining in between the contact metal and the graphene after optical lithography.
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Acknowledgments
This work has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) in the frame of the SPP 1459 “Graphene” under contract ME 1173/4-1 and NE 1633/2-1. The work of C.A.C. was supported by the National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT), Mexico, under Grant No. 252826.
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Chavarin, C.A., Sagade, A.A., Neumaier, D. et al. On the origin of contact resistances in graphene devices fabricated by optical lithography. Appl. Phys. A 122, 58 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-015-9582-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-015-9582-5