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The intrinsic characteristics of novel devices and materials are often misunderstood due to the characterization methods which are developed to analyze existing devices or materials. Even though graphene is a very well-known material, there hasn't been a proper method to assess the density and energy levels of defects in graphene non-destructively, especially after the device fabrication. Here, we report a new non-destructive defect analysis method, amplitude-modulated discharge current analysis (AMDCA). The validity of this method was confirmed using a graphene field effect transistor with physically predefined defect densities in the channel. Charge trap densities ( N c t ) of the order of ∼1012 cm−2 were observed at the defect level in the range of 0.15–0.29 eV. This method can be very useful for the in-depth study of graphene devices as well as other two-dimensional materials that don't have a body contact.

A graphitic capping layer was successfully formed on top of Cu interconnects at room temperature, using a pulsed KrF laser. The change in temperature of the Cu line was maintained below 380 °C during laser irradiation with a fluence of 312.5 mJ/cm2. The resistance and critical current density of graphitic layer-capped Cu interconnects were improved by 2.8% and 5.2%, respectively. The lifetime of graphitic layer-capped Cu interconnects under a constant current stress was improved by 223%.