Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have recently published a paper describing how they have developed a one-step, facile method to pattern graphene by using stencil mask and oxygen plasma reactive-ion etching, and subsequent polymer-free direct transfer to flexible substrates.
According to the researchers significant progress has been made in the direct synthesis of large-area, uniform, high quality graphene films using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with various precursors and catalyst substrates. However, to date, the infrastructure requirements on post-synthesis processing--patterning and transfer--for creating interconnects, transistor channels, or device terminals have slowed the implementation of graphene in a wider range of applications.
In conjunction with the recent evolution of additive and subtractive manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing and computer numerical control milling, the researchers developed a simple and scalable graphene patterning technique using a stencil mask fabricated via a laser cutter.
The researchers approach to patterning graphene is based on a shadow mask technique that has been employed for contact metal deposition. Further, not only are these stencil masks easily and rapidly manufactured for iterative rapid prototyping, they are also reusable, enabling cost-effective pattern replication. Since their approach involves neither a polymeric transfer layer nor organic solvents, the researchers were able to obtain contamination-free graphene patterns directly on various flexible substrates.
This approach demonstrates a new possibility to overcome limitations imposed by existing post-synthesis processes to achieve graphene micro-patterning. The researchers envision this facile approach to graphene patterning sets forth transformative changes in "do It yourself" (DIY) graphene-based device development for broad applications including flexible circuits/devices and wearable electronics.
It is expected that this method will allow rapid design iterations and pattern replications, and the polymer-free patterning technique promotes graphene of cleaner quality than other fabrication techniques.
Rapid Stencil Mask Fabrication Enabled One-Step Polymer-Free Graphene Patterning and Direct Transfer for Flexible Graphene Devices
Keong Yong | Ali Ashraf | Pilgyu Kang | SungWoo Nam
Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 24890 (2016) | doi:10.1038/srep24890
Received: 05 March 2016 | Accepted: 06 April 2016 | Published online: 27 April 2016
Abstract
We report a one-step polymer-free approach to patterning graphene using a stencil mask and oxygen plasma reactive-ion etching, with a subsequent polymer-free direct transfer for flexible graphene devices. Our stencil mask is fabricated via a subtractive, laser cutting manufacturing technique, followed by lamination of stencil mask onto graphene grown on Cu foil for patterning. Subsequently, micro-sized graphene features of various shapes are patterned via reactive-ion etching. The integrity of our graphene after patterning is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. We further demonstrate the rapid prototyping capability of a stretchable, crumpled graphene strain sensor and patterned graphene condensation channels for potential applications in sensing and heat transfer, respectively. We further demonstrate that the polymer-free approach for both patterning and transfer to flexible substrates allows the realization of cleaner graphene features as confirmed by water contact angle measurements. We believe that our new method promotes rapid, facile fabrication of cleaner graphene devices, and can be extended to other two dimensional materials in the future.