CC BY
14LM-O-2
Direct laser printing of continuous graphene patterns from a
growth substrate
N. Kurochitsky1, M. Komlenok1, P. Pivovarov1, M. Dezhkina1, M. Rybin1, S. Savin2, A.
Popovich1, E. Obraztsova1, V. Konov1
1 - Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, st. Vavilova 38, Moscow, 119991
Russia
2 - MIREA - Russian Technological University, 78 Vernadsky Avenue, Moscow 119454 Russia Main author email address: kuronick@mail.ru
The technological process of transition from graphene synthesis to its use in microelectronics is often multi-step and is associated with high risks of contamination and damage of the initial carbon film structure [1, 2]. Modern trends in the transfer of carbon materials to the final carrier are associated with the use of laser printing methods [3, 4]. This significantly speeds up the transfer process and reduces costs, while maintaining the original characteristics of the material. As applied to low-dimensional carbon materials and especially to graphene films, different kinds of laser-induced transfer techniques have recently attracted great interest [5-7]. In this work, for the first time, we proposed to use the blister-based laser-induced forward transfer (BB-LIFT) for the direct printing of graphene patterns from a growth substrate to reduce the number of intermediate manipulation with graphene films. During the LIFT procedure, the laser pulse heats the absorbing layer covering the transparent donor substrate. Local heating leads to the partial evaporation of the absorbing layer and an increase in pressure, which results in the ejection of material from the site of the donor substrate facing the receiving sample-acceptor.
To minimize the number of manipulations with the carbon film it is necessary to solve a challenging task - to develop the synthesis of graphene on thin copper films used further for the absorbing of laser radiation. The standard technology for graphene synthesis is the method of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on a copper foil surface at a high temperature from a mixture of argon, hydrogen, and methane under reduced pressure. The synthesis of graphene on thin copper films is a poorly studied topic, which is confirmed by only a few works [8-10]. We have improved the CVD technique for the synthesis of graphene on a copper film, recrystallized on a single crystal sapphire substrate. The regimes for the formation of a grain of a maximum-area copper crystal for further synthesis of single-layer graphene with the maximum grain size are studied. Selection of the optimal thickness of a copper film on a single-crystal sapphire substrate, preliminary cutting of the graphene film, and a decrease in the distance between the growth and receiving substrates during the BB-LIFT made it possible to achieve the transfer of continuous graphene fragments with sizes up to 50x50 ^m. The report will present an analysis of the conditions of graphene synthesis and laser transfer, which critically affect the final characteristics of the transferred graphene patterns. This research was funded by the Russian Science Foundation, grant number 18-72-10158.
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