A Scalable Clean Graphene Transfer Process Using Polymethylglutarimide as a Support Scaffold

Abstract

© The Author(s) 2016. Extrinsic scattering related to polymer residue limits the performance of chemical vapor deposited graphene films when transferred to insulating substrates. A clean graphene transfer process has been achieved by employing a support scaffold composed of a polymethylglutarimide (PMGI)-based resist. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) observations confirmed that the amount of residue on large-area transferred graphene was sufficiently reduced by using PMGI scaffolds in comparison to the traditional technique that uses polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) scaffolds. The root mean square (RMS) roughness values of graphene surfaces using PMMA and PMGI scaffolds were 6.5 nm and 4.0 nm, respectively. This comparison confirms that a cleaner graphene surface was achieved by using PMGI as a support scaffold. Furthermore, Raman spectroscopy suggests that the quality of the transferred graphene was equivalent to that obtained by the traditional method.