Graphene Nanoribbon Array Fabrication by Oxygen Gas Plasma Etching through Sub-micrometer Porous Filters

We investigate a novel method of fabricating a network of graphene nanoribbon structures. The process is a sharp departure from conventional nanolithographic techniques in both method and amount of time required. Epitaxial graphene prepared on single crystal 4H-SiC(0001) was etched with O2 plasma through 0.2 μm porous filters adhered to the surface of the sample. Thickness measurements using ellipsometry and topological mappings using atomic force microscopy were conducted to ascertain the extent of graphene nanoribbon formation. Sheet resistance of the samples was measured using the four-point van der Pauw method to ensure the existence of electrical conductivity in the etched samples. Furthermore, the etch-rate of multilayer epitaxial graphene was determined.