Long-term Air Stability of Small Molecules passivated-Graphene Field Effect Transistors

Electrical properties of graphene-based field effect transistors (G-FETs) can be degraded in ambient conditions owing to physisorbed oxygen or water molecules on the graphene surface. Passivation technique is one of a fascinating strategy for fabrication of G-FETs, which allows to sustain electrical properties of graphene in the long term without disrupting its inherent properties: transparency, flexibility and thinness. Ironically, despite its importance in producing high performance graphene devices, this method has been much less studied compared to patterning or device fabrication processes. Here we report a novel surface passivation method by using atomically thin self-assembled alkane layers such as C18- NH2, C18-Br and C36 to prevent unintentional doping effects that can suppress the degradation of electrical properties. In each passivated device, we observe a shift in charge neutral point to near zero gate voltage and it maintains the device performance for 1 year. In addition, the fabricated PG-FETs on a plastic substrate with ion-gel gate dielectrics exhibit not only mechanical flexibility but also long-term stability in ambient conditions. Therefore, we believe that these highly transparent and ultra-thin passivation layers can become a promising candidate in a wide range of graphene based electronic applications.