Crack-release transfer method of wafer-scale grown graphene onto large-area substrates

We developed a crack-release graphene transfer technique for opening up possibilities for the fabrication of graphene-based devices. Graphene film grown on metal catalysts/SiO₂/Si wafer should be scathelessly peeled for sequent transferring to a target substrate. However, when the graphene is grown on the metal catalyst on a silicon substrate, there is a large tensile stress resulting from the difference of the coefficient of thermal expansion in the catalyst and silicon. The conventional methods of detaching graphene from metal catalysts were found to induce considerable mechanical damage on graphene films during separation processes including metal wet etching. Here we report a new technique wherein bubbles generated by electrolysis reaction separate thin metal catalysts from the SiO₂/Si wafer. The dry attachment of graphene to the target wafer was processed utilizing a wafer to wafer bonding technique in a vacuum. We measured the microscopic image, Raman spectra, and electrical properties of the transferred graphene. The optical and electrical properties of the graphene transferred by the bubbles/dry method are better than those of the graphene obtained by mechanical/wet transfer.