A Molecular Mechanics Study of Morphologic Interaction between Graphene and Si Nanowires on a SiO2
Substrate
Figure 5
Molecular simulation results of the morphology of a blanket graphene flake intercalated by Si nanowires evenly patterned in parallel on a SiO2 substrate. (a) When the Si nanowires are widely spaced (e.g., is large), graphene sags in between neighboring nanowires and adheres to the substrate surface. The width of the corrugated portion of the graphene is denoted by . (b) If the nanowire spacing is small, graphene remains nearly flat, just slightly conforming to the envelop of the nanowires. Here nm and nm in (a) and 46 nm in (b). The sharp transition between (a) and (b) as varies indicates a snap-through instability of the graphene morphology.
