Atomic force microscope local oxidation nanolithography of graphene

Abstract

We demonstrate the local oxidation nanopatterning of graphene films by an atomic force microscope. The technique provides a method to form insulating trenches in graphene flakes and to fabricate nanodevices with sub-nanometer precision. We demonstrate fabrication of a 25-nm-wide nanoribbon and submicron size nanoring from a graphene flake. We also found that we can write either trenches or bumps on the graphene surface depending on the lithography conditions. We attribute the bumps to partial oxidation of the surface and incorporation of oxygen into the graphene lattice.