High-volume production of graphene sheets is expected

Only one atom thick graphene sheets have been difficult to prepare. The Brookhaven National Laboratory recently found a way to produce high quality graphene sheets. The results of the study were published in the recently published journal Nature and Physics.

Previous methods of manufacturing graphene sheets have their own drawbacks. The most common is the micromechanical separation method, which directly cuts the graphene sheets from the larger crystals. Another method of obtaining orientation epitaxy is to "species" graphene using the atomic structure of the growth matrix, but the graphene sheets produced by this method tend to be uneven in thickness, and the adhesion between graphene and the matrix may affect The characteristics of the carbon layer.

Brookhaven's new technology is based on the second method described above. The matrix they use is a rare metal ruthenium. In the beginning, the researchers let the carbon atoms infiltrate into the crucible at 1150 °C. After cooling to -850 ° C, a large amount of carbon atoms previously absorbed will float to the surface of the crucible. A single layer of carbon atoms "islands" in the shape of a lens fill the entire surface of the substrate. Eventually they can grow into a complete layer of graphene. After the first layer covers 80%%, the second layer begins to grow. The underlying graphene reacts strongly with ruthenium, while the second layer is almost completely separated from the ruthenium, leaving only weak electrical connections. This second layer retains the inherent electronic structure of graphene and performs satisfactorily.

Graphene materials are the star of hope for the electronics industry and a hot spot for scientific research in recent years. For example, its carrier mobility is high, electrons can move relatively freely therein; it can also react with a single gas molecule, which makes it suitable as a probe for the susceptor.