Passivating Graphene and Suppressing Interfacial Phonon Scattering with Mechanically Transferred Large-Area Ga2O3

We demonstrate a large-area passivation layer for graphene by mechanical transfer of ultrathin amorphous Ga2O3 synthesized on liquid Ga metal. A comparison of temperature-dependent electrical measurements of millimeter-scale passivated and bare graphene on SiO2/Si indicates that the passivated graphene maintains its high field effect mobility desirable for applications. Surprisingly, the temperature-dependent resistivity is reduced in passivated graphene over a range of temperatures below 220 K, due to the interplay of screening of the surface optical phonon modes of the SiO2 by high-dielectric-constant Ga2O3 and the relatively high characteristic phonon frequencies of Ga2O3. Raman spectroscopy and electrical measurements indicate that Ga2O3 passivation also protects graphene from further processing such as plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of Al2O3.

Automated summary

We demonstrate a large-area passivation layer for graphene by transferring ultrathin amorphous Ga2O3 synthesized on liquid Ga metal. The passivated graphene maintains its high mobility and shows reduced resistivity over a range of temperatures, thanks to the interplay of Ga2O3's high-dielectric-constant screening and its high characteristic phonon frequencies. Ga2O3 passivation also protects graphene from further processing like plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of Al2O3, as indicated by Raman spectroscopy and electrical measurements.