Imaging of Photocurrent Generation and Collection in Single-Layer Graphene

Abstract

Unlike in linear nanostructures, photocurrent generated in single-layer graphene (SLG) is expected to display two-dimensional characteristics. This allows the investigation of carrier dynamics, in relation to several spatially varying factors (such as the location of photocurrent generation and collection) and the overall electron band configuration of the SLG. In this letter, we use scanning photocurrent microscopy to investigate the spatial mapping of photocurrent generation and collection in SLG in a multielectrode geometry. A strong electric field near metal-graphene contacts leads to efficient photocurrent generation, resulting in >30% efficiency for electron−hole separation. The polarity and magnitude of contact photocurrent are used to study the band alignment and graphene electrical potential near contacts, from which it is shown that there exist large-scale spatial variations in graphene electric potential. Our measurements with a multielectrode device configuration reveal that photocurrent is distributed with a clear directional dependence among different collector electrodes. In the same measurement scheme, we also determine the majority carrier in graphene under different gate conditions by imaging the thermocurrent generated by laser-induced heating of electrodes.