Plasma-induced photoresponse in few-layer graphene

A device consisting of a few layers of graphene (FLG) sheets was exposed to atmospheric plasma, resulting in the generation of significant number of defects, oxygen absorption, and doping. The plasma-induced electrical transformation and photoconducting properties of pristine FLG and plasma-irradiated FLG (p-FLG) were compared under visible and ultraviolet (UV) light illumination. The visible light photoresponsivity of p-FLG was 0.47 AW−1 at 535 nm, comparatively higher than that observed for pristine FLG (10 m AW−1); this result was attributed to the formation of defect midgap states band by plasma irradiation. Photoinduced molecular desorption causes the responsivity of the higher energy (UV) photons. Our results suggest that plasma irradiation is a simple, novel way to tailor the optoelectronic properties of graphene layers.