METHOD FOR THE FABRICATION AND TRANSFER OF GRAPHENE

• US 20150371848A1
• Filed: 06/19/2015
• Published: 12/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Original Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Inventors: Zaretski, Aliaksandr, Lipomi, Darren J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,418,839 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 1/008 made from two or more materials having different characteristics or properties casting for producing layered articles B28B1/16; feeding several succesive layers, optionally of different materials B28B13/022; coating B28B11/04; applying material to surfaces to form a permanent layer thereon B28B19/00
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 11/00 Apparatus or processes for treating or working the shaped or preshaped articles specially adapted for tubular articles B28B21/92; decoration or surface treatment in general B05, B44; compacting concrete in situ in connection with building E04G21/06; drying F26
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 32/186 by chemical vapour deposition [CVD]
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 32/194 After-treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/24 Vacuum evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/30 by electron bombardment
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/34 Sputtering
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/06 characterised by the deposition of metallic material
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/26 Deposition of carbon only
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45525 Atomic layer deposition [ALD]
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1633 Process of electroless plating
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 5/54 Electroplating of non-metallic surfaces C25D7/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02002 Preparing wafers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/022 the layer being a laminate, i.e. composed of sublayers, e.g. stacks of alternating high-k metal oxides adhesion layers or buffer layers H01L21/02304, H01L21/02362
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02425 Conductive materials, e.g. metallic silicides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02527 Carbon, e.g. diamond-like carbon
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0262 Reduction or decomposition of gaseous compounds, e.g. CVD
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02658 Pretreatments cleaning in general H01L21/02041
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02664 Aftertreatments planarisation in general H01L21/304
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/283 Deposition of conductive or insulating materials for electrodes conducting electric current
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 : Organic PV cells

Abstract

Provided herein are processes for transferring high quality large-area graphene layers (e.g., single-layer graphene) to a flexible substrate based on preferential adhesion of certain thin metallic films to graphene followed by lamination of the metallized graphene layers to a flexible target substrate in a process that is compatible with roll-to-roll manufacturing, providing an environmentally benign and scalable process of transferring graphene to flexible substrates.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a graphene layer on a substrate, comprising;

providing a graphene layer disposed on a first substrate;

applying a metal layer to the graphene layer to form a metalized graphene layer;

exfoliating the metalized graphene layer from the first substrate; and

laminating the metalized graphene layer to a second substrate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises copper, nickel, or alloy thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphene layer is a graphene monolayer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphene layer comprises two or more graphene layers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal layer comprises gold, nickel, cobalt, iron, silver, copper, tin, palladium, platinum, or alloy thereof.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the metal layer comprises nickel or cobalt.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal layer comprises a transition metal or alloy thereof.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the metal layer comprises two or more sequentially deposited metal layers, wherein each layer comprises a transition metal or alloy thereof.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the two or more sequentially deposited metal layers each have a thickness of about 1 to about 1000 nanometers (nm), about 20 nm to about 1000 nm, about 50 nm to about 750 nm, about 100 nm to about 500 nm, about 125 nm to about 250 nm, or about 150 nm to about 200 nm.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal layer is applied to the graphene layer using a vacuum metallization process or an electrochemical metallization process.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the vacuum metallization process is selected from the group consisting of electron beam evaporation, thermal evaporation and sputtering.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the electrochemical metallization process is selected from the group consisting of an electroplating process, electroless deposition and atomic layer deposition.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal layer has a thickness of about 1 to about 1000 nanometers (nm), about 20 nm to about 1000 nm, about 50 nm to about 750 nm, about 100 nm to about 500 nm, about 125 nm to about 250 nm, or about 150 nm to about 200 nm.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal layer has a thickness of about 75 nm, about 100 nm, about 125 nm, about 150 nm, about 175 nm or about 200 nm.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the graphene layer disposed on a first substrate comprises:

providing the first substrate;

growing the graphene layer on the first substrate layer using a chemical vapor deposition process.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first substrate comprises copper or nickel or alloy thereof.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing the metal layer from the graphene layer following lamination of the graphene layer to the second substrate.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the second substrate is a flexible, solid, rigid, or fragile substrate.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the second substrate is a flexible substrate selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyimide, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), an elastomer polymer, a thermoplastic polymer, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-deposited polymer (ex.:

Parylene-C or D or N) and combinations thereof.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the second substrate is transparent.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising removing the metal layer from the graphene layer following lamination of the metalized layer to the flexible substrate.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein exfoliating the metalized graphene layer from the first substrate comprises

adhering an intermediary substrate to the metal layer;

applying force to the intermediary substrate sufficient to overcome the interaction between the first substrate and graphene layer to remove the metalized graphene layer from the first substrate.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the intermediary substrate is thermal release adhesive tape.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising removing the thermal release adhesive tape following removal of the metallized graphene from the first substrate.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the thermal release adhesive tape is applied to the metal layer using a roller to apply the thermal release adhesive tape from one edge of the metal layer to a opposite edge of the metal layer.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the adhering step and the removing step are performed concurrently.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein the intermediary substrate is adhered to the metal layer using van Der Waals forces, magnetic force, pressure differential, electrostatic force, or any combination thereof.

29. The method of claim 1, further comprising etching a pattern on the metalized graphene layer.

21. A method of transferring a graphene layer to a flexible substrate, comprising;

providing a graphene layer;

applying a metal layer to the graphene layer to form a metalized graphene layer; and

laminating the metalized graphene layer to the flexible substrate.