Nanoscale perforation of graphene by grazing-incidence swift heavy-ion irradiation

Abstract In this work we used atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy to study the response of chemical vapour deposition-grown graphene on a SiO 2 substrate to swift heavy-ion irradiation at grazing incidence. The irradiation parameters (in terms of ion type, energy, fluence and angle of irradiation) needed for perforation of graphene were identified, and a 4.8 keV nm −1 electronic stopping threshold was established. Raman spectroscopy results indicate that the production of vacancies is a prerequisite for the perforation of graphene. However, a large density of certain kinds of defects introduced by pre-irradiation can hinder the perforation of graphene.