Oxygen-Aided Synthesis of Polycrystalline Graphene on Silicon Dioxide Substrates

TLDR: The metal-catalyst-free synthesis of high-quality polycrystalline graphene on dielectric substrates [silicon dioxide (SiO(2)) or quartz] using an oxygen-aided chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process and is compatible with current silicon processing techniques is reported.

Abstract: We report the metal-catalyst-free synthesis of high-quality polycrystalline graphene on dielectric substrates [silicon dioxide (SiO2) or quartz] using an oxygen-aided chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process The growth was carried out using a CVD system at atmospheric pressure After high-temperature activation of the growth substrates in air, high-quality polycrystalline graphene is subsequently grown on SiO2 by utilizing the oxygen-based nucleation sites The growth mechanism is analogous to that of growth for single-walled carbon nanotubes Graphene-modified SiO2 substrates can be directly used in transparent conducting films and field-effect devices The carrier mobilities are about 531 cm2 V–1 s–1 in air and 472 cm2 V–1 s–1 in N2, which are close to that of metal-catalyzed polycrystalline graphene The method avoids the need for either a metal catalyst or a complicated and skilled postgrowth transfer process and is compatible with current silicon processing techniques