Structure, Energetic and Tribological Properties, and Possible Applications in Nanoelectromechanical Systems of Argon-Separated Double-Layer Graphene

Abstract

The possibility to control the commensurability and distance between graphene layers separated by a dielectric spacer is considered by the example of a heterostructure 2 consisting of double-layer graphene separated by atomic layers of argon. Van der Waals corrected density functional theory (DFT-D) is applied to study structural, energetic and tribological characteristics of this heterostructure. It is found that in the ground state, monolayer and bilayer argon spacers are incommensurate with the graphene layers, whereas submonolayer argon spacers which are commensurate with the graphene layers can exist only as metastable states. The calculations show that this incommensurability provides negligibly small static friction for relative motion of argon-separated graphene layers and, therefore, such a heterostructure holds great promise for the use in nanoelectromechanical systems. A scheme and operational principles of the nanorelay based on the revealed tribological properties of the heterostructure are proposed. 1.

Synthesis of few layer graphene by direct exfoliation of graphite and a Raman spectroscopic study

“…2,3 With these fascinating properties, graphene may be used as active components in various applications such as field effect transistors, transparent conductors, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), electrochemical resonators, and photovoltaic devices. [4][5][6] Generally, graphene is made by micromechanical cleavage. In this process, monolayers are peeled from Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG) using a scotch tape.…”

Tunneling conductance of telescopic contacts between graphene layers with and without dielectric spacer

“…The width of the simulation box along the armchair direction is w ¼ ffiffiffi 3 p a 0 ¼ 4:27 Å (one rectangular elementary unit cell, a 0 ¼ 2:466 Å is the lattice constant of graphene obtained in our previous calculations [6]) for pristine graphene and 3w ¼ 3 ffiffiffi 3 p a 0 ¼ 12:81 Å (three rectangular elementary unit cells) for the system with the argon spacer. The size of the simulation box perpendicular to the plane is 27 Å.…”

“…The characteristics of the pressure sensor based on changes of interlayer tunneling conductance of the graphene/h-BN heterostructure have been calculated [5]. An idea of a high-speed memory cell based on relative rotation of layers of double-layer graphene with an argon spacer has been proposed [6]. In the present paper we consider the tunneling conductance of a telescopic contact between graphene layers with and without a monolayer argon spacer showing effects relevant both for traditional electronic devices and NEMS.…”

“…Nearly frictionless relative motion of graphene layers separated by an incommensurate spacer can be also used in fast-response nanoelectromechanical devices [6,36]. However, analysis of capacitance of such systems determining the characteristic time of their electronic response is still lacking.…”

Theoretical Analysis of Vibration Frequency of Graphene Sheets Used as Nanomechanical Mass Sensor

“…DLGSs are of considerable interest because of their unique electronic bands and mechanical properties. Different from SLGSs, the bandgap of DLGSs can be controlled externally by a gate bias and gaps up to 250 meV can be opened, which reveals the large potential of DLGSs for applications in NEMS [29][30][31][32]. On the other hand, DLGSs have higher stiffness and natural frequency than SLGSs because of the vdW interaction forces [33][34][35].…”