Graphitic films of group III nitrides and group II oxides: platform for fundamental studies and applications – GRIFONE

This project aims at a breakthrough in the fabrication of graphene heterostructures with semiconducting materials by establishing and developing an innovative material concept for graphitic films of group III nitrides and group II oxides with particular reference to h-AlN and h-ZnO. These novel layered materials and heterostructures offer strategic value in applications requiring fabrication of graphene heterostructures with semiconducting materials that originates from a variety of constituent elements and layer stacking, and from providing alternative opportunity for discovering electronics applications with added functionality, e.g., in nano(opto)electromechanical systems, sensors, and hydrogen storage. Therefore, the identification of these novel layered materials is done by their eligibility for high-impact applications. This material concept is envisioned to explore and integrate the approach of chemical vapor deposition of h-AlN and h-ZnO on large-area SiC-supported graphene templates. Therefore, it allows for a focused optimization and design of prospective graphitic films and heterostructures with graphene from which future devices can be created by the virtue of their band gap engineering, thermal conductivity, elasticity and piezoelectricity. A strong potential synergy between the 948 Core project and GRIFONE project is foreseen in knowledge transfer and multiplication of the team merits. The strategy of the proposed project is a means to build synergy in layered materials and nano-device research. We expand a platform for fundamental research on novel sp2 coordinated layered materials of h-AlN (group III nitrides), h-ZnO (group II oxides), and heterostructures with graphene by experimental verification and theoretical modeling. The present ambition to create new knowledge and performance enhancement for novel graphene heterostructures is motivated by our recent discoveries from basic research, and graphene-on-SiC technology take-up by industry. This consortium forms a strategic research constellation between three partners: Linköping University, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, (LiU-IFM), Sweden; National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, (CNR-IMM), Italy; and Centre for Energy Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Technical Physics and Materials Science, (MFA). The team of researchers is well-proven by successful conduct of strategic research.