Controllable N-Doping of Graphene

Opening and tuning an energy gap in graphene are central to many electronic applications of graphene. Here we report N-doped graphene obtained by NH3 annealing after N(+)-ion irradiation of graphene samples. First, the evolution of the graphene microstructure was investigated following N(+)-ion irradiation at different fluences using Raman spectroscopy, showing that defects were introduced in plane after irradiation and then restored after annealing in N2 or in NH3. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) of the graphene annealed in NH3 after irradiation showed N signal, however, no N signal was observed after annealing in N2. Last, the field-effect transistor (FET) was fabricated using N-doped graphene and monitored by the source-drain conductance and back-gate voltage (Gsd-Vg) curves in the measurement. The transport property changed compared to that of the FET made by intrinsic graphene, that is, the Dirac point position moved from positive Vg to negative Vg, indicating the transition of graphene from p-type to n-type after annealing in NH3. Our approach, which provides a physical mechanism for the introduction of defect and subsequent hetero dopant atoms into the graphene material in a controllable fashion, will be promising for producing graphene-based devices for multiple applications.