Electronic properties of embedded graphene: Doped amorphous silicon/CVD graphene heterostructures

Large-area graphene film is of great interest for a wide spectrum of electronic applications, such as field effect devices, displays, and solar cells, among many others. Here, we fabricated heterostructures composed of graphene (Gr) grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on copper substrate and transferred to SiO₂/Si substrates, capped by n or p-type doped amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Using Raman scattering we show that despite the mechanical strain induced by the a-Si:H deposition, the structural integrity of the graphene is preserved. Moreover, Hall effect measurements directly on the embedded graphene show that the electronic properties of CVD graphene can be modulated according to the doping type of the a-Si:H as well as its phase i.e. amorphous or nanocrystalline. The sheet resistance varies from 360 sq^-1 to 1260 sq^-1 for the (p)-a-Si:H/Gr (n)-a-Si:H/Gr, respectively. We observed a temperature independent hole mobility of up to 1400 cm² V^-1 s^-1 indicating that charge impurity is the principal mechanism limiting the transport in this heterostructure. We have demonstrated that embedding CVD graphene under a-Si:H is a viable route for large scale graphene based solar cells or display applications.