High-field electrical and thermal transport in suspended graphene.

Abstract

We study the intrinsic transport properties of suspended graphene devices at high fields (≥1 V/μm) and high temperatures (≥1000 K). Across 15 samples, we find peak (average) saturation velocity of 3.6 × 10(7) cm/s (1.7 × 10(7) cm/s) and peak (average) thermal conductivity of 530 W m(-1) K(-1) (310 W m(-1) K(-1)) at 1000 K. The saturation velocity is 2-4 times and the thermal conductivity 10-17 times greater than in silicon at such elevated temperatures. However, the thermal conductivity shows a steeper decrease at high temperature than in graphite, consistent with stronger effects of second-order three-phonon scattering. Our analysis of sample-to-sample variation suggests the behavior of "cleaner" devices most closely approaches the intrinsic high-field properties of graphene. This study reveals key features of charge and heat flow in graphene up to device breakdown at ~2230 K in vacuum, highlighting remaining unknowns under extreme operating conditions.