Graphene transfer process and optimization of graphene coverage

Syarifah Norfaezah Sabki,Meghashama Lim Chon-Ki,Noraini Othman,Shafiq Hafly Shamsuri,Siti Fazlina Fauzi,Mohamad Halim Abd Wahid

doi:10.1051/epjconf/201716201049

Abstract

Graphene grown on transition metal is known to be high in quality due to its controlled amount of defects and potentially used for many electronic applications. The transfer process of graphene grown on transition metal to a new substrate requires optimization in order to ensure that high graphene coverage can be obtained. In this work, an improvement in the graphene transfer process is performed from graphene grown on copper foil. It has been observed that the graphene coverage is affected by the pressure given to the top of PDMS to eliminate water and air between graphene and SiO2 (new substrate). This work experimented with different approaches to optimize the graphene coverage, and stamping method has proven to be the best technique in obtaining the largest graphene coverage. This work also highlights the elimination of impurities from graphene after the transfer process, known to be PMMA residues, which involved immersion of graphene in acetone. This method has improved the graphene conductivity.

Highlights

Since its first discovery by the two physicists from Manchester University in 2004 [1], graphene has become a trending in research and applications [2,3,4,5]
The repeated pressure given to the top of PDMS cause disturbance between graphene and the substrate surface, which lead to high degree of graphene edge defects and non-uniform graphene coverage
Sample 2 is prepared by pressing finger tip on the top of PDMS firmly and constantly for about ten seconds to ensure that the graphene is well attached to the substrate surface

Summary

Introduction

Since its first discovery by the two physicists from Manchester University in 2004 [1], graphene has become a trending in research and applications [2,3,4,5]. Many applications have been explored using graphene as the base material due to its remarkable characteristics, mechanical and electrical properties. This makes graphene very practical and feasible to be incorporated in electronics and RF applications [6,7,8,9,10,11]. Graphene grown on transition metals have been incorporated in many electronic applications due to its quality and coverage of monolayer graphene. The transfer method of this graphene on transition metal is important in order to ensure a high coverage of graphene is transferred and graphene quality is sustained

Methods

Results

Conclusion