Direct Synthesis of Layer-Tunable and Transfer-Free Graphene on
Device-Compatible Substrates Using Ion Implantation
Abstract
Direct synthesis of layer-tunable and transfer-free graphene on
technologically important substrates is highly valued for various
electronics and device applications. Here, we report a novel synthesis
approach combining ion implantation for a precise graphene layer control
and dual-metal smart Janus substrate for a diffusion-limiting graphene
formation, to directly synthesize layer-tunable graphene on arbitrary
substrates without the post-synthesis layer transfer process. C ion
implantation was performed on Cu-Ni film deposited on a variety of
device-relevant substrates. Upon thermal annealing to promote Cu-Ni
alloying, the pre-implanted C-atoms in the Ni layer are pushed towards
the Ni/substrate interface by the top Cu layer due to the poor
C-solubility in Cu. As a result, the expelled C-atoms precipitate into
graphene structure at the interface facilitated by the Cu-like alloy
catalysis. After removing the alloyed Cu-like surface layer, the
layer-tunable graphene on the desired substrate is directly realized.
ReaxFF was performed to elucidate the graphene formation mechanisms in
this novel synthesis approach. Three ordinary devices using
as-synthesized graphene were fabricated on Si, SiO2, and glass
substrates to demonstrate the graphene quality of our layer-tunable and
transfer-free synthesis approach and the excellent performance
characteristics of these low-cost manufacturing devices: field-effect
transistors, heating devices, and near-infrared photodetectors.