Transfer of Graphene with Protective Oxide Layers

Haim Grebel,Brandon Fisher,Liliana Stan,Yuzi Liu,David Gosztola,Anirudha Sumant,Leonidas Ocola

doi:10.3390/chemengineering2040058

Haim Grebel, Brandon Fisher + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering2040058

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Abstract

Transfer of graphene, grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), to a substrate of choice, typically involves the deposition of a polymeric layer (for example, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), or polydimethylsiloxane, PDMS). These polymers are quite hard to remove without leaving some residues behind. One method to improve the graphene transfer is to coat the graphene with a thin protective oxide layer, followed by the deposition of a very thin polymer layer on top of the oxide layer (much thinner than the usual thickness), followed by a more aggressive polymeric removal method, thus leaving the graphene intact. At the same time, having an oxide layer on graphene may serve applications, such as channeled transistors or sensing devices. Here, we study the transfer of graphene with a protective thin oxide layer grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD). We follow the transfer process from the graphene growth stage through oxide deposition until completion. We report on the nucleation growth process of oxides on graphene, their resultant strain and their optical transmission.

Highlights

The typical transfer of graphene—grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on Cu or Ni substrates—onto a substrate of choice, involves some intermediate stages [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]
The graphene-deposited metal substrate is typically coated with a polymer, for example, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) [1], or polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) [2], in order to protect it through the following transfer stages
In order to improve the nucleation of the dielectric on graphene and obtain smooth uniform films, several graphene surface pretreatment methods prior to atomic layer deposition (ALD) have been used, for example, the deposition of a thin metal seed layer [14] or polymer films [10,15,16] or pretreatment of the graphene surface with ozone [17,18]

Summary

Introduction

The typical transfer of graphene—grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on Cu or Ni substrates—onto a substrate of choice, involves some intermediate stages [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. The graphene-deposited metal substrate is typically coated with a polymer, for example, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) [1], or polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) [2], in order to protect it through the following transfer stages. The metal films are etched away and the graphene/polymer film is transferred onto and left to rest on the desired substrate.

Results

Conclusion