Monolayer graphene growth on sputtered thin film platinum

It is demonstrated that sputtered thin film platinum (Pt) can be used as a catalytic metal for graphene growth on metal. During the crystallization annealing, the sputtered Pt is crystallized mostly into Pt (111) orientation, maintaining excellent surface roughness with no sign of agglomeration. The relatively lower carbon solubility in Pt and the good surface roughness of the thin film Pt enable us to form a uniform monolayer graphene on Pt over the entire region of the thin film Pt/SiO2/Si substrate by carbon dissolution and segregation method processed in a methane ambient. The monolayer graphene grown on Pt has been successfully transferred to SiO2/Si substrate by simple wet etching of Pt. The results of Raman spectroscopic and scanning tunneling microscopic measurements of the synthesized graphene layer are presented. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3254193]