Uniform deposition of large-area graphene films on copper using low-pressure chemical vapor deposition technique

Large-area graphene of the order of centimeters was deposited on copper substrates by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) using hexane as the carbon source. The effect of temperature and the carrier gas flowrates on the quality and uniformity of the as-deposited graphene was investigated using the Raman analysis. The film deposited at 870 °C with a total carrier gas flowrate of 50 sccm is predominantly single-layer with very low defects according to the Raman spectra. The 2D/G peak intensity ratios obtained from the Raman spectra of samples from three different locations of graphene deposited on a whole copper catalyst was used to calculate the large-area uniformity. Based on the results, a very high uniformity of 89.6% was calculated for the graphene deposited at 870 °C. The uniformity was observed to decrease with increasing temperature. Similar to the thickness uniformity, the electrical conductivity values obtained as a result of I–V measurements and water contact angle measurements were found to be close to each other for the graphene deposited under the same deposition conditions.