French graphene researchers successfully synthesized two-dimensional material germanium

Summary: A joint European research team such as the University of Aix-Marseille has successfully synthesized another "cousin" of graphene, which is used to synthesize this material in a way similar to that of Silicones, where a single germanium atom sinks into a basement at high temperatures in an ultra-high vacuum. The researchers have synthesized the material onto a platinum gold plate.

A joint European research team such as the University of Aix-Marseille has successfully synthesized another "cousin" of graphene, the two-dimensional material germanium (germanene). The material is composed of single-layer germanium atoms, or with excellent electrical and optical properties, and may be widely integrated in various electronic devices in the future. The study was published in the New Physics Journal of September 10.

The two-dimensional material was first proposed in 2009, but as of now, it is still difficult for researchers to achieve it. Since then, graphene has been further developed, the other two-dimensional materials such as silicones (silicene) have been synthesized.

It has been reported that the method used to synthesize this material is similar to that of Silicones, where a single germanium atom sinks into a basement at elevated temperatures in an ultra-high vacuum. The researchers have synthesized the material onto a platinum gold plate.

"Based on the path of the previously synthesized silicones, we naturally tried to synthesize this new material in the same way, by depositing germanium to silver," the researchers said. But the attempt failed, so the decision to switch to the platinum substrate was made, and the platinum was grown onto the germanium substrate. This will be another way to be worth trying. ”

After depositing germanium atoms in platinum, the researchers measured the electron structure of the material by means of spectral measurement and density functional Theory (DFT), which was actually able to confirm that it was a germanium. Furthermore, a tunneling microscope was used to scan the material to reveal the characteristic honeycomb structure of its 2D material.

The researchers believe that this material may grow on a flexible gold film substrate, which will undoubtedly be cheaper than platinum material to allow its mass synthesis to grow. In addition, its unique properties may make it a robust two-dimensional topological insulator, especially at room temperature, which opens the possibility of using the material for quantum calculations.

The researchers said: "The synthesis of the material is a long-term task and is now just the beginning." In fact, the successful synthesis is not easy to achieve, the conditions are very harsh, there is a considerable amount of work to do, what is needed now is to further study the electronic properties of the material. ”

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French graphene researchers successfully synthesized two-dimensional material germanium