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We present a novel measurement approach which combines the electrical characterization of solution-gated field effect transistors based on epitaxial bilayer graphene on 4H-SiC (0001) with simultaneous Raman spectroscopy. By changing the gate voltage, we observed Raman signatures related to the resonant electron-phonon coupling. An analysis of these Raman bands enabled the extraction of the geometrical capacitance of the system and an accurate calculation of the Fermi levels for bilayer graphene. An intentional application of higher gate voltages allowed us to trigger electrochemical reactions, which we followed in-situ by Raman spectroscopy. The reactions showed a partially reversible character, as indicated by an emergence / disappearance of peaks assigned to C-H and Si-H vibration modes as well as an increase / decrease of the defect-related Raman D band intensity. Our setup provides a highly interesting platform for future spectroelectrochemical research on electrically induced sorption processes of graphene on the micrometer scale.

We present optical, electrical, and structural properties of nitrogen-doped graphene grown on the Si face of 4H-SiC (0001) by chemical vapor deposition method using propane as the carbon precursor and N2 as the nitrogen source. The incorporation of nitrogen in the carbon lattice was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy shows carrier behavior characteristic for massless Dirac fermions and confirms the presence of a graphene monolayer in the investigated nitrogen-doped samples. The structural and electronic properties of the material were investigated by Raman spectroscopy. A systematical analysis of the graphene Raman spectra, including D, G, and 2D bands, was performed. In the case of nitrogen-doped samples, an electron concentration on the order of 5–10 × 1012 cm−2 was estimated based upon Raman and Hall effect measurements and no clear dependence of the carrier concentration on nitrogen concentration used during growth was observed. This high electron concentration can be interpreted as both due to the presence of nitrogen in graphitic-like positions of the graphene lattice as well as to the interaction with the substrate. A greater intensity of the Raman D band and increased inhomogeneity, as well as decreased electron mobility, observed for nitrogen-doped samples, indicate the formation of defects and a modification of the growth process induced by nitrogen doping.

Natural opal samples have been studied with positron annihilation spectroscopy methods: Lifetime spectroscopy (LT) and Doppler Broadening (DB) spectroscopy. Additionally, samples have been examined by the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and the BET method. The mean lifetimes and DB spectra shape of opals have been compared to other rocks by constructing the quotient spectra. Unusual properties of opals have been explained by positronium formation in the three-dimensional tektosilicate framework structure (SiO2*nH2O) of the opals.