“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Sometimes, what is important is hidden underneath, and even though we cannot see it, we know it is there… because it works!

It is no different in the technology of graphene-based magnetic field sensors. The magic of graphene itself is not enough. For the sensor to operate stably at very high temperatures, around 500°C, something extra is needed. Meaning: the substrate on which it was grown should be modified. Or, more precisely, the ladder of its energy levels.

So what needs to be done? We have to remove the rungs that harm the sensor. Important! When talking about energy rungs, we mean electron traps. A well-designed ladder is jagged, but this makes the sensor less susceptible to temperature variations. And that’s it!

Our new article published in Elsevier Carbon Trends talks about the removal of rungs of the energy ladder, i.e., the defect engineering in the epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide system: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374702659_Defect-engineered_graphene-on-silicon-carbide_platform_for_magnetic_field_sensing_at_greatly_elevated_temperatures

ℹ The article is the culmination of the scientific and technological efforts within the NCN OPUS and M-ERA.NET I4BAGS projects.