Strain relaxation in graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition

The growth of single layer graphene by chemical vapor deposition on polycrystalline Cu substrates induces large internal biaxial compressive strain due to thermal expansion mismatch. Raman backscattering spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to study the strain relaxation during and after the transfer process from Cu foil to SiO2. Interestingly, the growth of graphene results in a pronounced ripple structure on the Cu substrate that is indicative of strain relaxation of about 0.76% during the cooling from the growth temperature. Removing graphene from the Cu substrates and transferring it to SiO2 results in a shift of the 2D phonon line by 27 cm(-1) to lower frequencies. This translates into additional strain relaxation. The influence of the processing steps, used etching solution and solvents on strain, is investigated. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.