We describe scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) measurements performed on individual cobalt (Co) atoms deposited onto backgated graphene devices. We find that Co adatoms on graphene can be ionized by either the application of a global backgate voltage or by the application of a local electric field from a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip. Large screening clouds are observed to form around Co adatoms ionized in this way, and we observe that some intrinsic graphene defects display a similar behavior. Our results provide new insight into charged impurity scattering in graphene, as well as the possibility of using graphene devices as chemical sensors.
@article{arxiv.1006.1014,
title = {Gate-Controlled Ionization and Screening of Cobalt Adatoms on a Graphene Surface},
author = {Victor W. Brar and Regis Decker and Hans-Michael Solowan and Yang Wang and Lorenzo Maserati and Kevin T. Chan and Hoonkyung Lee and Caglar O. Girit and Alex Zettl and Steven G. Louie and Marvin L. Cohen and Michael F. Crommie},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1006.1014},
year = {2015}
}