Paraffin-enabled graphene transfer

Abstract

The performance and reliability of large-area graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition are often limited by the presence of wrinkles and the transfer-process-induced polymer residue. Here, we report a transfer approach using paraffin as a support layer, whose thermal properties, low chemical reactivity and non-covalent affinity to graphene enable transfer of wrinkle-reduced and clean large-area graphene. The paraffin-transferred graphene has smooth morphology and high electrical reliability with uniform sheet resistance with ~1% deviation over a centimeter-scale area. Electronic devices fabricated on such smooth graphene exhibit electrical performance approaching that of intrinsic graphene with small Dirac points and high carrier mobility (hole mobility = 14,215 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹; electron mobility = 7438 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹), without the need of further annealing treatment. The paraffin-enabled transfer process could open realms for the development of high-performance ubiquitous electronics based on large-area two-dimensional materials.

The transfer process of as-grown graphene limits its electrical performance and reliability. Here, the authors develop a transfer approach using paraffin as a support layer and obtain wrinkle-reduced and clean large-area graphene retaining high mobility.