Programmable Graphene Resistance Standards (ProGress)

Purpose and goal

RISE has a strong competence in graphene research and has in recent years taken a world-leading role in developing quantum hall arrays that can be used to realize the resistance unit at arbitrary levels. Now we want to take the technology one step further and create programmable arrays where the resistance of one and the same array can be adjusted as needed. A programmable array can be seen as the ultimate version of a graphene resistance standard and in this project we want to take the first steps towards this objective by designing, creating and testing small-scale arrays with p-n junctions.

Expected effects and result

This project is expected to drive the technological development of programmable arrays. Until now, it has been difficult to create programmable arrays on a large scale (many elements in an array) and with high accuracy of its quantized resistance value. The main problem lies in the p-n junctions. We will test new methods to minimize their negative influence on the final resistance. This development is essential to be able to create large programmable arrays that have sufficiently high accuracy in their quantized resistance value to be useful in practice.

Planned approach and implementation

The immediate focus will be on developing new methods for microfabrication in a clean room environment. These techniques will make it possible to create graphene arrays with p-n junctions controlled by an electrostatic gate. An iterative process will be required where multiple graphene samples are fabricated and tested in a measurement laboratory. When a reliable process has been developed, the samples will be tested using measurements with metrological precision. In the final phase of the project, large-scale arrays will be fabricated to test the scale-up potential.