Direct growth of patterned graphene on SiO2 substrates without the use of catalysts or lithography

We demonstrate a one-step fabrication of patterned graphene on SiO2 substrates through a process free from catalysts, transfer, and lithography. By simply placing a shadow mask during the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of graphene, an arbitrary shape of graphene can be obtained on SiO2 substrate. The formation of graphene underneath the shadow mask was effectively prevented by the low-temperature, catalyst-free process. Growth conditions were optimized to form polycrystalline graphene on SiO2 substrates and the crystalline structure was characterized by Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Patterned graphene on SiO2 functions as a field-effect device by itself. Our method is compatible with present device processing techniques, and should be highly desirable for the proliferation of graphene applications.