Date of Award

Fall 2020

Project Type

Thesis

Program or Major

Materials Science

Degree Name

Master of Science

First Advisor

Shawna Hollen

Second Advisor

Karsten Pohl

Third Advisor

Jiadong Zang

Abstract

Two dimensional (2D) materials have taken material science and solid state physics by storm. Learning about these fascinating new materials relies on researcher’s ability to reliably create them and to be in control of the many parameters that can impact their properties. In this work I discuss the methods of 2D material exfoliation, transfer, and device assembly, and how these methods allow researchers to control environmental factors, such as substrate, contamination, and strain, that can impact 2D material properties. I also discuss challenges and lessons learned in employing these 2D material processing methods. Additionally, I present the results of an annealing experiment on a graphene on gold sample. Annealing resulted in an increase in the crystallinity of the gold. Different local density of states (LDOS), as measured by dI/dV spectra from scanning tunneling spectroscopy, were found in areas on the graphene with single crystalline, stepped, and amorphous underlying gold structure. The influence of underlying gold structure on the LDOS of graphene is explored. The observations from this experiment support the idea that 2D materials are greatly influenced by their substrate and improve our understanding of the complex relationship between graphene and gold.

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