In-plane and tunneling pressure sensors based on graphene/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures
Abstract
An in-plane pressure sensor (IPPS) consisting of graphene sandwiched by hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and a tunneling pressure sensor (TPS) consisting of h-BN sandwiched by graphene are demonstrated. The responses as function of external pressure are modeled. The current varies by 3 orders of magnitude as pressure increases from 0 to 5 nN/nm2. The IPPS current is negatively correlated to pressure, whereas TPS current exhibits positive correlation to pressure. The IPPS design is insensitive to the number of wrapping h-BN layers, indicating precise process control is unnecessary. The result paves a viable avenue towards realizing of atomic scale pressure sensors.
- Publication:
-
Applied Physics Letters
- Pub Date:
- September 2011
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2011ApPhL..99m3109X
- Keywords:
-
- boron compounds;
- graphene;
- III-V semiconductors;
- nanosensors;
- pressure sensors;
- semiconductor heterojunctions;
- tunnelling;
- wide band gap semiconductors;
- 85.85.+j;
- 07.07.Df;
- Micro- and nano-electromechanical systems and devices;
- Sensors;
- remote sensing