Laser precision-based graphene growth processes
This paper discusses laser methods for fabricating large-area, high-quality graphene. Common methods for epitaxial graphene growth including thermal decomposition of SiC apply energy evenly across an entire substrate, leading to simultaneous nucleation of graphene crystals in many locations and thus poor continuity over large areas. A proposed alternative method is to use a defocused laser to apply energy at a single nucleation site, and then propagate graphene growth by scanning the laser along the substrate. This concept has been tested in two versions. First, in a variation of the established method of SiC thermal decomposition, the laser can heat a point on a SiC substrate, driving off Si to nucleate graphene. This is followed by scanning of the laser to extend the graphene growth out from the nucleation point. In the second method, a highly controlled version of Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) known as Through Thin Film Ablation (TTFA), can be used to deposit a precise volume of carbon nanoparticles on...