Design and fabrication of the microcantilever heater for rapid chemical vapor deposition graphene synthesis

This thesis presents the design and the fabrication process of the microcantilever heater for rapid chemical vapor deposition (CVD) graphene synthesis. Two types of 300 nm thick catalytic metals, copper and nickel, are integrated into the heater region ranging from 5 by 5 μm to 20 by 12 μm in size. The microcantilever heater is thermally actuated by Joule heating. The fabricated device is able to operate at the graphene synthesis temperature, ranging from 800°C to 1000°C, for longer than an hour without any degradation in functionality. To prevent electrical contact between the doped silicon device layer and the patterned catalytic metal, 200 nm of PECVD silicon nitride is deposited as a passivation layer. Raman spectroscopy measurements show that the temperature along the heater region is uniform with less than 5 % in difference. With rapid local heating and cooling of the fabricated microcantilever heater, the total graphene synthesis time is reduced by more than 90 % compared to conventional CVD. Using a nickel layered microcantilever heater, multilayer graphene was grown and analyzed with Raman spectroscopy. A detailed process flow of the microcantilever heater fabrication process and the device characterization results are explained in detail.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Kim, Hoe Joon

Contributors dc:contributor

• King, William P.

• chemical vapor deposition (CVD) Graphene Synthesis
• microcantilever heater
• heated cantilever

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2011 Hoe Joon Kim

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/24010

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/24010