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E-beam manipulation of Si atoms on graphene edges with an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope

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Abstract

The burgeoning field of atomic-level material control holds great promise for future breakthroughs in quantum and memristive device manufacture and fundamental studies of atomic-scale chemistry. Realization of atom-by-atom control of matter represents a complex and ongoing challenge. Here, we explore the feasibility of controllable motion of dopant Si atoms at the edges of graphene via the sub-atomically focused electron beam in a scanning transmission electron microscope. We demonstrate that the graphene edges can be cleaned of Si atoms and then subsequently replenished from nearby source material. It is also shown how Si edge atoms may be “pushed” from the edge of a small hole into the bulk of the graphene lattice and from the bulk of the lattice back to the edge. This is accomplished through sputtering of the edge of the graphene lattice to bury or uncover Si dopant atoms. Finally, we demonstrate e-beam mediated hole healing and incorporation of dopant atoms. These experiments form an initial step toward general atomic-scale material control.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr. Ivan Vlassiouk for provision of the graphene samples and Dr. Francois Amet for assisting with the argon-oxygen cleaning procedure. Research is supported by Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is sponsored by the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy (S. V. K.), and by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (O. D, S. K., and S. J.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Nanophase Materials Science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA

    Ondrej Dyck, Sergei V. Kalinin & Stephen Jesse

  2. Institute for Functional Imaging of Materials, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA

    Ondrej Dyck, Sergei V. Kalinin & Stephen Jesse

  3. School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea

    Songkil Kim

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  1. Ondrej Dyck
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Correspondence to Ondrej Dyck.

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E-beam manipulation of Si atoms on graphene edges with an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope

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Dyck, O., Kim, S., Kalinin, S.V. et al. E-beam manipulation of Si atoms on graphene edges with an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope. Nano Res. 11, 6217–6226 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2141-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2141-6

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