Observation of thickness-independent ultrafast relaxation times in MPCVD few-layer graphene

Graphene presents unique optoelectronic properties, making it attractive for the development of a wide range of new and advanced technological applications such as high-speed photodetectors and all-optical modulators. The study and control of the generated carriers in graphene, namely their ultrafast relaxation dynamics, are of great importance for these applications. Here, we report the ultrafast relaxation times of photogenerated carriers in few-layer graphene grown by microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition. Graphene samples with 3, 5 and 6 layers were studied by degenerate femtosecond optical pump-probe spectroscopy. We observed a fast relaxation constant on the order of 120 − 180 fs and a slow relaxation constant below 1 ps, associated with carrier-carrier scattering and carrier-phonon scattering processes, respectively. These results suggest that small variations in the number of graphene layers do not affect the dynamics.