Chemical Vapor Deposition of Bernal-Stacked Graphene on a Cu Surface by Breaking the Carbon Solubility Symmetry in Cu Foils

5 years ago

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Bernal-Stacked Graphene on a Cu Surface by Breaking the Carbon Solubility Symmetry in Cu Foils

Hyo Chan Lee, Kilwon Cho, Min Seok Yoo, Siyoung Lee, Nam-Suk Lee, Seon Baek Lee

The synthesis of Bernal-stacked multilayer graphene over large areas is intensively investigated due to the value of this material's tunable electronic structure, which makes it promising for use in a wide range of optoelectronic applications. Multilayer graphene is typically formed via chemical vapor deposition onto a metal catalyst, such as Ni, a Cu–Ni alloy, or a Cu pocket. These methods, however, require sophisticated control over the process parameters, which limits the process reproducibility and reliability. Here, a new synthetic method for the facile growth of large-area Bernal-stacked multilayer graphene with precise layer control is proposed. A thin Ni film is deposited onto the back side of a Cu foil to induce controlled diffusion of carbon atoms through bulk Cu from the back to the front. The resulting multilayer graphene exhibits a 97% uniformity and a sheet resistance of 50 Ω sq−1 with a 90% transmittance after doping. The growth mechanism is elucidated and a generalized kinetic model is developed to describe Bernal-stacked multilayer graphene growth by the carbon atoms diffused through bulk Cu. A synthetic approach for Bernal-stacked multilayer graphene on Cu foil via chemical vapor deposition is proposed. Uniform Bernal-stacked graphene is synthesized on a large-area by depositing carbon reservoir on the backside of Cu foil. The resulting graphene exhibits a tunable bandgap under vertical electric fields.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/adma.201700753