The interlayer screening effect of graphene sheets investigated by Kelvin probe force microscopy

Abstract

We report on the interlayer screening effect of graphene using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). By using a gate device configuration that enables the supply of electronic carriers in graphene sheets, the vertical screening properties were studied from measuring the surface potential gradient. The results show layer-dependence of graphene sheets, as the number of graphene layers increases, the surface potential decreases exponentially. In addition, we calculate the work function-related information of the graphene layers using KPFM.