Anisotropic etching of graphene sheets

One challenge in the development of graphene nanoribbon transistors and graphene devices in general is the minimization of edge-induced disorder. We have discovered a simple etching process which may help address this challenge. Preliminary inspection of our etched graphene sheets reveals faceting of the edges and occasionally even hexagonal holes. We will present an atomic force microscopy study with the aim of determining the smoothness of the edges and their orientation relative to the crystal lattice.