Suspension and simple optical characterization of two-dimensional membranes

We report on a method for suspending two-dimensional crystal materials in an electronic circuit using an only photoresists and solvents. Graphene and NbSe₂ are suspended tens of nanometers above metal electrodes with clamping diameters of several microns. The optical cavity formed from the membrane/air/metal structures enables a quick method to measure the number of layers and the gap separation using comparisons between the expected colour and optical microscope images. This characterization technique can be used with just an illuminated microscope with a digital camera which makes it adaptable to environments where other means of characterization are not possible, such as inside nitrogen glove boxes used in handling oxygen-sensitive materials. (paper)