KERI grows graphene and graphite thin films directly on substrates at room temperature

Researchers at the Power Cable Research Center of the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) have modified a standard industrial sputtering system to grow carbon films directly on substrates at room temperature, producing everything from ultra-thin one- to two-layer graphene up to neatly stacked multilayer graphite films.

Graphene is widely seen as a promising material for reducing power loss and heat generation in electrical applications, but conventional production methods typically grow the film on one surface and then require a separate transfer step to move and attach it onto the target material. That transfer process makes it difficult to cover large areas reliably or to build up repeated, alternating stacks of graphene and metal layers for industrial use. To get around this, the KERI team used an epitaxial growth approach that causes carbon atoms to stack in ordered lines directly along the substrate surface during sputtering, a physical vapor deposition technique already common in industrial coating equipment. By tuning the process, the researchers were able to control layer count across the full range from monolayer and bilayer graphene through to multilayer graphite, all grown in place without a transfer step.

Senior researcher Kim Ho-seop (left) and researcher Nam Su-hyeon of the Power Cable Research Center at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) pose with a substrate coated with graphene. Image by KERI. Graphene is widely seen as a promising material for reducing power loss and heat generation in electrical applications, but conventional production methods typically grow the film on one surface and then require a separate transfer step to move and attach it onto the target material. That transfer process makes it difficult to cover large areas reliably or to build up repeated, alternating stacks of graphene and metal layers for industrial use. To get around this, the KERI team used an epitaxial growth approach that causes carbon atoms to stack in ordered lines directly along the substrate surface during sputtering, a physical vapor deposition technique already common in industrial coating equipment. By tuning the process, the researchers were able to control layer count across the full range from monolayer and bilayer graphene through to multilayer graphite, all grown in place without a transfer step.

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