Stacking fault induced tunnel barrier in platelet graphite nanofiber

A correlation study using image inspection and electrical characterization of platelet graphite nanofiber devices is conducted. Close transmission electron microscopy and diffraction pattern inspection reveal layers with inflection angles appearing in otherwise perfectly stacked graphene platelets, separating nanofibers into two domains. Electrical measurement gives a stability diagram consisting of alternating small-large Coulomb blockade diamonds, suggesting that there are two charging islands coupled together through a tunnel junction. Based on these two findings, we propose that a stacking fault can behave as a tunnel barrier for conducting electrons and is responsible for the observed double-island single electron transistor characteristics.