In situ transmission electron microscopy observation of melted germanium encapsulated in multilayer graphene

鈴木 誠也; 根本 善弘*; 椎木 菜摘*; 中山 佳子*; 竹口 雅樹*

Annalen der Physik, 535(9), p.2300122_1 - 2300122_12, 2023/09

https://doi.org/10.1002/andp.202300122

Germanene is a two-dimensional (2D) germanium (Ge) analogous of graphene, and its unique topological properties are expected to be a material for next-generation electronics. However, no germanene electronic devices have yet been reported. One of the reasons for this is that germanene is easily oxidized in air due to its lack of chemical stability. Therefore, growing germanene at solid interfaces where it is not oxidized is one of the key ideas for realizing electronic devices based on germanene. In this study, the behavior of Ge at the solid interface at high temperatures was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). To achieve such in situ heating TEM observation, we fabricated a graphene/Ge/graphene encapsulated structure. In situ heating TEM experiments revealed that Ge like droplets moved and coalesced with other Ge droplets, indicating that Ge remained as a liquid phase between graphene layers at temperatures higher than the Ge melting point.