Fluorinated graphene dielectric films obtained from functionalized graphene suspension: preparation and properties

Abstract

In the present study, we have examined the interaction between a suspension of graphene in dimethylformamide and an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid, which was found to result in partial fluorination of suspension flakes. A considerable decrease in the thickness and lateral size of the graphene flakes (up to 1–5 monolayers in thickness and 100–300 nm in diameter) with increasing duration of fluorination treatment is found to be accompanied by a simultaneous transition of the flakes from the conducting to the insulating state. Smooth and uniform insulating films with a roughness of ∼2 nm and thicknesses down to 20 nm were deposited from the suspension on silicon. The electrical and structural properties of the films suggest their use as insulating elements in thin-film nano- and microelectronic device structures. In particular, it was found that the films prepared from the fluorinated suspension display rather high breakdown voltages (field strength of (1–3) × 10⁶ V cm⁻¹), ultralow densities of charges in the film and at the interface with the silicon substrate in metal–insulator–semiconductor structures (∼(1–5) × 10¹⁰ cm⁻²). Such excellent characteristics of the dielectric film can be compared only to well-developed SiO₂ layers. The films from the fluorinated suspension are cheap, practically feasible and easy to produce.