Ultra-thin Graphitic Film: Synthesis and Physical Properties

A scalable technique of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of ultra-thin graphitic film is proposed. Ultra-thin graphitic films grown by a one-step CVD process on catalytic copper substrate have higher crystallinity than pyrolytic carbon grown on a non-catalytic surface and appear to be more robust than a graphene monolayer. The obtained graphitic material, not thicker than 8 nm, survives during the transfer process from a Cu substrate without a template polymer layer, typically used in the graphene transfer process to protect graphene. This makes the transfer process much more simple and cost-effective. Having electrical and optical properties compatible with what was observed for a few layers of CVD graphene, the proposed ultra-thin graphitic film offers new avenues for implementing 2D materials in real-world devices.