Impact of Size Effect on Graphene Nanoribbon Transport

Graphene has shown impressive properties for nanoelectronics applications, including a high mobility and a width-dependent bandgap. Use of graphene in nanoelectronics would most likely be in the form of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) where the ribbon width is expected to be less than 20 nm. Many theoretical projections have been made on the impact of edge scattering on carrier transport in GNRs-most studies point to a degradation of mobility (of GNRs) as well as the on/off ratio (of GNR FETs). This letter provides the first clear experimental evidence of the onset of size effect in patterned GNRs; it is shown that, for W < 60 nm, carrier mobility in GNRs is limited by edge scattering.