Reproducible graphene synthesis by oxygen-free chemical vapour deposition

Published

May 29, 2024

Author(s)

Jacob Amontree, Xingzhou Yan, Christopher DiMarco, Pierre Levesque, Tehseen Adel, Jordan Pack, Madisen Holbrook, Christian Cupo, Zhiying Wang, Dihao Sun, Adam Biacchi, Charlezetta Stokes, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Cory Dean, Angela R. Hight Walker, Katayun Barmak, Richard Martel, James Hone

Abstract

The demonstration of large-scale graphene synthesis on Cu by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has led to enormous interest worldwide over the past 14 years. The graphene CVD process involves flow of a carbon feedstock (typically methane) over a Cu surface at high temperature (typically > 1000 °C) in a reducing (hydrogen-rich) atmosphere. Catalytic decomposition of the feedstock on the Cu surface leads to formation of a graphene monolayer in a self-limiting process. Major breakthroughs toward using CVD graphene for applications include development of roll-to-roll processing, epitaxial growth on crystalline substrates [germanium and Cu(111)], and in situ Cu deposition. On a fundamental level, seminal studies have improved understanding of the growth process by implementing new techniques such as isotopic labeling and in situ monitoring. At the same time, researchers have demonstrated control over key factors such as nucleation density and growth rate. Recent work has addressed critical factors impacting graphene quality, such as eliminating folds/wrinkles caused by thermal expansion mismatch between graphene and Cu; and accumulation of amorphous carbon on the graphene surface.

Citation

Nature

Volume

630

Issue

8017

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07454-5

Local Download

Keywords

chemical vapor deposition (CVD), graphene

Citation

Amontree, J. , Yan, X. , DiMarco, C. , Levesque, P. , Adel, T. , Pack, J. , Holbrook, M. , Cupo, C. , Wang, Z. , Sun, D. , Biacchi, A. , Stokes, C. , Watanabe, K. , Taniguchi, T. , Dean, C. , Hight Walker, A. , Barmak, K. , Martel, R. and Hone, J. (2024), Reproducible graphene synthesis by oxygen-free chemical vapour deposition, Nature, [online], https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07454-5, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=936656 (Accessed October 9, 2025)