Abstract The transfer of large-area graphene is a critical step in the development of technological applications, particularly when its structural integrity and physical properties are of central importance. While the scientific community dedicated a great deal of efforts improving the scalability and cleanliness of the transfer protocol, less research focused on the fundamental mechanisms responsible for the formation of cracks, wrinkles, corrugations, folds and mechanical strain which drastically hinder the reliability of the process. Here we describe how the surface morphology of copper, which serves as catalyst for the graphene chemical vapor deposition (CVD), significantly impacts (i) the transfer process reliability, (ii) graphene’s planar aspect, and (iii) graphene’s physical properties once transferred onto device-compatible substrates. We systematically compare the transfer of highly crystalline graphene from Cu foils, polycrystalline Cu films and epitaxial Cu films which possess a surface roughness spanning over 2 orders of magnitude. Our results suggest that, regardless of the transfer approach, the Cu template surface morphology is one of the major causes for the non optimal transfer results and discrepancies in physical properties reported in the literature. These findings provide valuable insights encouraging the use of alternative substrates when considering the integration of graphene into functional applications.

中文翻译：

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由铜催化剂表面形态引起的转移 CVD 石墨烯的基本限制

摘要 大面积石墨烯的转移是技术应用发展的关键步骤，特别是当其结构完整性和物理特性至关重要时。虽然科学界致力于提高传输协议的可扩展性和清洁度，但很少有研究关注导致裂缝、皱纹、波纹、褶皱和机械应变形成的基本机制，这些机制极大地阻碍了过程的可靠性. 在这里，我们描述了作为石墨烯化学气相沉积 (CVD) 催化剂的铜的表面形态如何显着影响 (i) 转移过程的可靠性，(ii) 石墨烯的平面方面，以及 (iii) 转移后石墨烯的物理特性到设备兼容的基板上。我们系统地比较了高结晶石墨烯从表面粗糙度超过 2 个数量级的铜箔、多晶铜薄膜和外延铜薄膜的转移。我们的结果表明，无论采用何种转移方法，Cu 模板表面形态都是导致非最佳转移结果和文献中报道的物理性质差异的主要原因之一。这些发现提供了宝贵的见解，鼓励在考虑将石墨烯集成到功能应用中时使用替代基材。Cu 模板表面形态是文献中报道的非最佳转移结果和物理性能差异的主要原因之一。这些发现提供了宝贵的见解，鼓励在考虑将石墨烯集成到功能应用中时使用替代基材。Cu 模板表面形态是文献中报道的非最佳转移结果和物理性能差异的主要原因之一。这些发现提供了宝贵的见解，鼓励在考虑将石墨烯集成到功能应用中时使用替代基材。