Marker-free on-the-fly fabrication of graphene devices based on fluorescence quenching

Graphene has been dominating the electronic research community recently, with a brisk surge in proposals for its use in novel devices. The aspirations of 2D-carbon-based electronics largely rely on the availability of a mass-production technique to obtain wafer-scale graphene circuits. In this paper, we take a first step towards fulfilling this aspiration by demonstrating a rapid prototyping route for graphene-based devices. The method is based on our observation that graphene quenches the fluorescence from dyes. Utilizing this property, we use a confocal microscope to identify graphene flakes and perform the required lithography steps, bypassing the need for markers and other infrastructure such as atomic force microscopy or e-beam lithography. The versatility of this technique enables it to harbour ambitions of an automated process for large scale in situ assembly of graphene-based circuits.