Production and mechanical characterization of graphene micro-ribbons

TL;DR

This paper presents a method for fabricating large-area graphene micro-ribbons using UV photolithography and oxygen plasma etching, and investigates their mechanical properties when embedded in polymers.

Contribution

It introduces a scalable patterning process for graphene micro-ribbons that preserves graphene quality and assesses their mechanical behavior in composite materials.

Findings

Successful large-area patterning of graphene micro-ribbons

Graphene quality remains unaltered after patterning

Mechanical properties of embedded micro-ribbons characterized

Abstract

Patterning of graphene into micro- and nano-ribbons allows for the tunability in emerging fields such as flexible electronic and optoelectronic devices, and is gaining interest for the production of more efficient reinforcement for composite materials. In this work we fabricate micro-ribbons from CVD graphene by combining UV photolithography and dry etching oxygen plasma treatments. Raman spectral imaging confirms the effectiveness of the patterning procedure, which is suitable for large-area patterning of graphene on wafer-scale, and confirms that the quality of graphene remains unaltered. The produced micro-ribbons were finally transferred and embedded into a polymeric matrix and the mechanical response was investigated by in-situ mechanical investigation combining Raman spectroscopy and tensile/compressive tests.