Scientists from Manchester University, the Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology have developed a novel technology, which combines the fabrication procedures of planar and vertical heterostructures in order to assemble graphene-based single-electron transistors.
The schematic structure of the devices
In the study, it was demonstrated that high-quality graphene quantum dots (GQDs), regardless of whether they were ordered or randomly distributed, could be successfully synthesized in a matrix of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Here, the growth of GQDs within the layer of hBN was shown to be catalytically supported by the platinum (Pt) nanoparticles distributed in-between the hBN and supporting oxidised silicon (SiO2) wafer, when the whole structure was treated by the heat in the methane gas (CH4). It was also shown, that due to the same lattice structure (hexagonal) and small lattice mismatch (~1.5%) of graphene and hBN, graphene islands grow in the hBN with passivated edge states, thereby giving rise to the formation of defect-less quantum dots embedded in the hBN monolayer.
