Electrostatic transfer of graphene grown on copper foil and nanosoldering of carbon nanotube junctions

Do, Jae Won

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/29553 Copy

Description

Title

Electrostatic transfer of graphene grown on copper foil and nanosoldering of carbon nanotube junctions

Author(s)

Do, Jae Won

Issue Date

2012-02-01T00:55:07Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Lyding, Joseph W.

Department of Study

Electrical & Computer Eng

Discipline

Electrical & Computer Engr

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• graphene
• graphene transfer
• electrostatics
• graphene growth
• graphene on copper
• carbon nanotubes
• nanosoldering
• carbon nanotube junctions
• carbon nanotube junction resistance
• local chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

This thesis presents novel techniques to enhance the key processing and device issues related to carbon nanoelectronics. Particularly, the presented techniques involve transferring graphene grown on copper foil using electrostatic force and improving the junction resistance of carbon nanotube (CNT) networks by nanosoldering. Typically, transferring graphene grown on metal substrates involves wet etching steps in order to separate graphene from its metal growth substrates. During these wet etching steps, however, residues and wrinkles can be easily introduced in graphene and degrade its quality. By using electrostatic force instead, we attempt to transfer graphene grown on copper foil without involving the wet etching steps, thereby simplifying the transfer technique and improving the quality of transferred graphene. In addition, we further study the interaction between graphene and the copper substrate. For nanosoldering of CNT networks, we propose a novel method to locally deposit metals at the junctions of CNTs in order to lower the junction resistance. As these junctions are the most-resistive regions, we are able to locally heat the junctions by passing currents through the CNT network. In the presence of metal precursors in a vacuum environment, we attempt to deposit metals locally and selectively at these junctions. Our results show that the metals indeed start to form locally at the inter-tube junctions, which indicates that the junctions are the spots of high thermal resistance. The effects of nanosoldering these junctions seem to vary according to the types of metals deposited at the junctions, and are subjects for further study.

Graduation Semester

2011-12

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/29553

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2011 Jae Won Do

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