Graphene removal by water-assisted focused electron-beam-induced etching - unveiling the dose and dwell time impact on the etch profile and topographical changes in SiO substrates.

Graphene is one of the most extensively studied 2D materials, exhibiting extraordinary mechanical and electronic properties. Although many years have passed since its discovery, manipulating single graphene layers is still challenging using standard resist-based lithography techniques. Recently, it has been shown that it is possible to etch graphene directly in water-assisted processes using the so-called focused electron-beam-induced etching (FEBIE), with a spatial resolution of ten nanometers.