Condensed Matter Seminar Series

Nanotechnology with Graphene, Nanotubes, and Diamond-like Carbon

Andrea Ferrari

University of Cambridge

Friday September 21,  10:00am,  Room 298,  Physics Building

Abstract:  Carbon based materials play a major role in today's science and technology. Carbon is a very versatile element, which can crystallize in the form of diamond or graphite. Great excitement has followed the discovery of new forms of carbon, including fullerenes, nanotubes, and single layer graphene. There are also many non-crystalline carbons, known as amorphous carbons and nanostructured carbons (mixtures of amorphous and graphitic carbon, nanotubes and fullerenes). Diamond-like carbons play an important role, being a key element in numerous everyday-life applications. Their great versatility arises from the strong dependence of the physical properties on the ratio of sp2 (graphite-like) to sp3 (diamond-like) bonds. Here Iwill review the main deposition methods, characterization techniques, and applications of graphene, nanotubes and diamond-like carbons. I will focus in particular on the use of Raman spectroscopy to fingerprint each carbon species and to extract the most relevant structural information.