Progress in research on controllable single-layer graphene films on insulating substrates

[ Instrument Network Instrument Development ] Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is one of the effective methods for growing large-area high-quality graphene. In the CVD growth of graphene, it is necessary to use a metal catalyst. Graphene needs to be transferred to construct an electrical device, which is incompatible with current semiconductor processing processes, and the transfer causes graphene wrinkles, breakage, and electrical properties. If the metal-free catalytic growth of graphene can be realized on an insulating substrate, the electrical device can be directly constructed without transferring. However, unlike the self-limiting growth mode on most metal substrates, CVD growth of graphene on an insulating substrate is often accompanied by shortcomings such as slow growth rate and repeated nucleation, resulting in graphite with poor uniformity and uncertainty. Alkene film. Therefore, the preparation of a large-area uniform single-layer graphene film directly on an insulating substrate has a profound influence on the docking of the semiconductor industry and the acceleration of the industrial application of graphene.

Under the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Pilot Project, the Key Laboratory of Organic Solids of the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has long been committed to the research of CVD controllable graphene and has made a series of progress (Adv. Mater. 2015). , 27, 2821-2837; Adv. Mater.2015, 27, 4195-4199; Adv. Mater. 2016, 28, 4956-4975; Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2016, 3, 1600347; J. Mater. Chem. C 2016 , 4, 7464-7471; Mater. Horiz. 2016, 3, 568; Chem. Mater. 2017, 29, 1022-1027; Nat. Commun. 2017, 8, 14029; Carbon 2017, 121, 1-9; Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2018, 5, 1800347; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 192-197; Mater. Horiz. 2018, 5, 1021-1034; Chem. Mater. 2019, 31, 1231; Adv. Mater Technol. 2019, 4, 1800572; Diamond Relat. Mater. 2019, 91, 112-118; Small Methods 2019, 31, 2507).

Recently, researchers have adopted a new precursor regulation strategy to successfully inhibit the secondary nucleation of graphene, thereby directly growing a large area of ​​high-quality uniform single-layer graphene film on the insulating substrate. Through the study of the growth mechanism of graphene, it is known that the hydroxylation of the surface of the silica substrate weakens the bond between the edge of the graphene and the substrate, thereby realizing the growth of graphene dominated by primary nucleation. Field-effect transistor (FET) device test results show that the prepared uniform single-layer graphene film has excellent electrical properties, and the mobility is up to 3800 cm2 V-1 s-1, which is a graphene thin film device grown on an insulating substrate. The highest performance value. This method of preparing high-quality graphene films on an insulating substrate without any complicated transfer process makes the application of graphene in the field of integrated electronics and optoelectronics one step further. In this work, the researchers and Xu Zhiping, a professor of engineering mechanics at Tsinghua University, conducted a close collaborative study on the growth mechanism of graphene. The relevant research results were published in the American Chemical Society (J. Am. Chem. Soc). , 2019, 141, 11004-11008), the authors of the correspondence are Yu Gui and Xu Zhiping, the first author is Wang Huaping.