Application Of Graphene To Electronic Devices

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUTION
1.1 Introduction To Graphene

Graphene, two-dimensional honeycomb carbon lattice, has excellent electrical, thermal,

and mechanical properties originated from its interesting physical and electronic structures .
For instance, the electron mobility in graphene can be higher than 100,000 cm 2/Vs at room
temperature . Graphene can also sustain current densities as high as 108-109 cm2/Vs .
Moreover, thermal conductivity of graphene has been reported to be as high as 5000 W/mK .
Because these excellent properties, various applications of graphene have been proposed. We
have also working on applcations of graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), such as
transistors , interconnects , thermal bumps , and gas sensors. In this paper, we first briefly
review some of the applications of graphene, including transistors and transparent electrodes.
We then describe our efforts for realizing graphene applications, including interconnects and
gas sensors. Graphene is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms
arranged in a hexagonal lattice. It is a semimetal with small overlap between the valence and
the conduction bands Graphene has many uncommon properties. It is the strongest material
ever tested, conducts heat and electricity efficiently, and is nearly [Link]. Graphene
shows a large and nonlinear diamagnetism, greater than that of graphite. Graphene can
selfrepair holes in its sheets when exposed to molecules containing carbon, such as
hydrocarbons. Bombarded with pure carbon atoms, the atoms perfectly align into hexagons,
completely filling the holes.

Fig 1.1:- structure of grapheme

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1.2 History

The theory of graphene was first explored by Wallace in 1947 as a starting point for
understanding the electronic properties of 3D graphite. The emergent massless Dirac equation
was first pointed out by Semen off, DiVincenzo and Mele. The earliest TEM images of
fewlayer graphite were published by Rues and Vogt in 1948. An early, detailed study on
fewlayer graphite dates to 1962 when Boehm and colleagues reported producing monolayer
flakes of reduced graphene oxide. Efforts to make thin films of graphite by mechanical
exfoliation started in 1990, but nothing thinner than 50 to 100 layers was produced before 2004.
Initial attempts to make atomically thin graphitic films employed exfoliation techniques similar
to the drawing method. Multilayer samples down to 10 nm in thickness were obtained.

One of the first patents pertaining to the production of graphene was filed in October 2002 and
granted in 2006. Two years later, in 2004 Geim and Novoselov extracted single-atomthick
crystallites from bulk graphite and transferred them onto thin silicon dioxide (SiO2) on a
silicon wafer, which electrically isolated the graphene.

Fig 1.2:- Manufacturing of graphene byTape stripping method

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Fig 1.3:-Roll to roll manufacturing process

1.3 Properties Of Graphene

Two-dimensional honeycomb carbon lattice, has excellent electrical, thermal, and

mechanical properties originated from its interesting physical and electronic structures. For
instance, the electron mobility in graphene can be higher than 100,000 cm2/Vs at room
temperature. Graphene can also sustain current densities as high as 108-109 cm2/Vs. Moreover,
thermal conductivity of graphene has been reported to be as high as 5000 W/mK. Because these
excellent properties, various applications of graphene have been proposed. We have also
working on applications of graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), such as transistors,
interconnects, thermal bumps, and gas sensors. In this paper, we first briefly review some of
the applications of graphene, including transistors and transparent electrodes. We then describe
our efforts for realizing graphene applications, including interconnects and gas [Link]
the recent 20 years, electronics is continuously driven towards higher speed, more functionality
and smaller size. The feature size decreases from micron to nanometer, and three-dimensional
(3D) chip stack is developed to replace the traditional twodimensional (2D) encapsulation
integration. However, heat flux of electronics is also dramatically increased. Furthermore, non-
uniform heat dissipation also leads to the overheating of specific areas in chip, largely affecting
computing performance and reliability of electronics systems. Generally, if the temperature of
the hotspot is reduced by 20oC, the transistor’s lifetime would be extended by one order of
magnitude. Therefore, thermal management of hotspots with localized high heat flux is quite
critical in electronics packaging. Graphene is an amazingly pure substance, thanks largely to
its simple, orderly structure based on tight, regular, atomic bonding, Carbon is a nonmetal, so
you might expect graphene to be one too. In fact, it behaves much more like a metal (though
the way it conducts electricity is very different), and that's led some scientists to describe it as
a semimetal or a semiconductor (a material mid-way between a conductor and an insulator,
such as silicon and germanium). Even so, it's as well to remember that graphene is
extraordinary—and quite possibly unique.

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Strength and stiffness

If you've ever scribbled with a soft pencil (something like a 4B), you'll know that graphite is
horribly soft. That's because the carbon layers inside a stick of graphite shave off very easily.
But the atoms within those layers are very tightly bonded so, like carbon nanotubes (and unlike
graphite), graphene is super-strong—even stronger than diamond! Graphene is believed to be
the strongest material yet discovered, some 200 times stronger than steel. Remarkably, it's both
stiff and elastic (like rubber), so you can stretch it by an amazing amount (20-25 percent of its
original length) without it breaking. That's because the flat planes of carbon atoms in graphene
can flex relatively easily without the atoms breaking apart.

No-one knows quite what to do with graphene's super-strong properties, but one likely
possibility is mixing it with other materials (such as plastics) to make composites that are
stronger and tougher, but also thinner and lighter, than any materials we have now. Imagine
an energy-saving car with super-strong, super-thin, super-light plastic body panels reinforced
with graphene; that's the kind of object we might envisage appearing in a future turned upside
down by this amazing material!

Thinness and lightness

Something that's only one atom thick is bound to be pretty light. Apparently, you could cover
a football field with a sheet of graphene weighing less than a gram—although it's pretty
unlikely anyone has actually tried! According to my quick calculations, that means if you could
cover the entire United States with graphene, you'd only need a mass of around 1500–2000
tons. That might sound a lot, but it's only about as much as about 1500 cars—and
it's completely covering one of the world's biggest countries!

Heat conductivity

As if super strength and featherweight lightness aren't enough, graphene is better at

carrying heat (it has very high thermal conductivity) than any other material—better by far than
brilliant heat conductors such as silver and copper, and much better than either graphite or
diamond. Again, we're most likely to discover the benefit of that by using graphenes in
composite materials, where we could use them to add extra heat-resistance or conductivity to
plastics or other materials.

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Electrical conductivity

This is where graphene starts to get really interesting! Materials that conduct heat very well
also conduct electricity well, because both processes transport energy using electrons. The flat,
hexagonal lattice of graphene offers relatively little resistance to electrons, which zip through
it quickly and easily, carrying electricity better than even superb conductors such as copper and
almost as well as superconductors (unlike superconductors, which need to be cooled to low
temperatures, graphene's remarkable conductivity works even at room temperature).
Scientifically speaking, we could say that the electrons in graphene have a longer mean free
path than they have in any other material (in other words, they can go further without crashing
into things or otherwise being interrupted, which is what causes electrical resistance). What
use is this? Imagine a strong, light, relatively inexpensive material that can conduct electricity
with greatly reduced energy losses: on a large scale, it could revolutionize electricity
production and distribution from power plants; on a much smaller scale, it might spawn
portable gadgets (such as cellphones) with much longer battery life.

Electronic properties

Electrical conductivity is just about "ferrying" electricity from one place to another in a
relatively crude fashion; much more interesting is manipulating the flow of electrons that carry
electricity, which is what electronics is all about. As you might expect from its other amazing
abilities, the electronic properties of graphene are also highly unusual. First off, the electrons
are faster and much more mobile, which opens up the possibility of computer chips that work
more quickly (and with less power) than the ones we use today. Second, the electrons move
through graphene a bit like photons (wave-like particles of light), at speeds close enough to
the speed of light (about 1 million meters per second, in fact) that they behave according to
both the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics, where simple certainties are replaced
by puzzling probabilities. That means simple bits of carbon (graphene, in other words) can be
used to test aspects of those theories on the table top, instead of by using blisteringly expensive
particle accelerators or vast, powerful space telescopes.

Optical properties

As a general rule, the thinner something is, the more likely it is to be transparent (or
translucent), and it's easy to see why: with fewer atoms to battle, photons are more likely to

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penetrate through thin objects than thick ones. As you might expect, super-thin graphene, being
only one atom thick, is almost completely transparent; in fact, graphene transmits about 97–98
percent of light (compared to about 80–90 percent for a basic, single pane of window glass).
Bearing in mind that graphene is also an amazing conductor of electricity, you can start to
understand why people who make solar panels, LCDs, and touchscreens are getting very
excited: a material than combines amazing transparency, superb electrical conductivity, and
high strength is a perfect starting point for applications like these.

Impermeability

Sheets of graphene have such closely knit carbon atoms that they can work like super-fine
atomic nets, stopping other materials from getting through. That means graphene is useful for
trapping and detecting gases—but it might also have promising applications holding gases
(such as hydrogen) that leak relatively easily from conventional containers. One of the
drawbacks of using hydrogen as a fuel (in electric cars) is the difficulty of storing it safely.
Graphenes, potentially, could help to make fuel-cell cars running on hydrogen a more viable
prospect.

On the other hand, if you pepper tiny holes into graphene to make it porous, you get make a
meshlike material called holey graphene that can work like an electrical semiconductor or a
very fine, physical sieve. Still very new, it's already starting to find exciting applications in
new forms of energy storage (such as supercapacitors) and water filters that could reduce
pressure on the planet by helping us turn ocean water into safe, clean drinking water.

1.4 Electronic Structure And Transport In Graphene

The valence electrons of carbon atoms in graphene are sp2 hybridized with the
remaining pz carbon orbitals forming an extended -electron system that is responsible for the
low energy transport and optical properties of graphene. The carbon atoms are arranged in the
form of a hexagonal honeycomb lattice with two atoms A and B per unit cell .The electronic
bandstructure of graphene was calculated very early on . The bonding -states form the valence
band and the antibonding states the conduction band. These two bands touch at six points, the
so-called Dirac or neutrality points. Symmetry allows these six points to be reduced to a pair
K and K0 , which are independent of one another. If we limit ourselves to low energies, which
are the most relevant in electron transport, the bands have a linear dispersion E ¼ vFhk, where

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vF is the Fermi velocity. Here, the bandstructure can be viewed as two cones touching at the
Dirac point ðEDiracÞ. This behavior is the direct result of the fact that the and states are
orthogonal, and as such, can cross smoothly with no repulsion or bandgap opening. Because of
the lack of a bandgap, graphene is usually described as a zero-gap semiconductor, or better yet,
as a semimetal. Furthermore, since the bandstructure is symmetric about the Dirac point,
electrons and holes in pure, freestanding graphene should have the same properties. The density
of states (DOS) is not constant with energy, as in conventional two-dimensional electron gas
(2DEG), but rather increases linearly with energy away from EDirac. Taking into account the
presence of the two graphene sublattices A and B, the Hamiltonian that describes the low
energy bandstructure in the vicinity of the KðK0 Þ points can be described by a 2-D Dirac
relativistic Hamiltonian for massless fermions H ¼ hvFk. 1 In this Hamiltonian, k is the
wavevector measured relative to the KðK0 Þ point and the ’s are Pauli spinor matrices . This
Hamiltonian is well known in particle physics where it is used to describe massless neutrinos.
In the case of graphene, however, the spinor does not describe the particle’s spin. It is rather a
two-component vector called pseudospin that gives the relative amplitude of the electronic
wavefunction on the two sublattices A and B, and always points along the electron momentum
k (opposite for holes). If the electron density is all on A, the pseudospin is ‘‘up,’’ while if on
B, is ‘‘down.’’ In general, the pseudospin wavefunction is a linear combination of the ‘‘up’’
and ‘‘down’’ states. Physically, the pseudospin describes the character (bonding or
antibonding) of the underlying molecular orbital. Considering now the implications of this
bandstructure on the scattering of carriers in graphene, we distinguish two types of scatterers.
First, we consider long-range scatterers with VðqÞ, where q K, e.g., charged impurites, where
the potential is approximately constant on the scale of the lattice constant and, therefore, does
not couple to the pseudospin portion of the wavefunction. In this case, the resulting matrix
element between initial ðkÞ and final ðk0 Þ states is given by khk0 jVðrÞjkij2 ¼ jVðk

k0 Þj2
cos2ðð1=2Þ

k;k0Þ, where

k;k0 is the angle between them and the cos term represents the overlap of the initial and final
spinor states. It is then clear that backscattering in graphene, i.e., the reversal of pseudospin, is
forbidden, cos2ðÞ ¼ 0, because the molecular orbitals of the initial and final states are

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orthogonal. This absence of backscattering for long-ranged Coulombic and acoustic phonon
scattering plays an important role in the excellent electrical transport properties of graphene.
On the other hand, short-range disorder with q K, e.g., lattice defects such as vacancies or
foreign atoms, can mix the molecular orbitals and lead to backscattering. Depending on the
strength of the scattering, transport in graphene can be diffusive, ballistic, or intermediate
between the two. Record high mobilities ðÞ have been achieved in graphene. Early on, of the
order of 200 000
cm2V

1 s 1 was obtained in suspended and annealed samples , and even higher of the order of 106
cm2V

1 s

1 has been reported more recently at low temperatures and low carrier densities . These values
reflect the properties of nearly isolated graphene. Given that graphene is all surface, it can
interact rather strongly with its environment (substrates, ambient atmosphere, etc.) and its
properties can, therefore, be significantly affected. There are a number of different types of
interactions that affect carrier mobility. An important one in realistic device structures involves
charged impurities, either on the graphene itself, or in the underlying/overlaying insulators.
The mobility resulting from Coulomb scattering C does not depend on the carrier concentration
n, and is not temperature dependent for kBT EF As expected, increased screening reduces the
strength of Coulombic scattering. In current devices based on synthetic graphene samples, C is
typically of the order of 1000–10 000
cm2V

1 s

1 . The strength of short-range scattering depends on the quality of the graphene sample, where
S / 1=n, and S is temperature independent at kBT EF . Interestingly, increased screening
enhances the importance of short-range interactions. Acoustic phonon scattering is rather weak
in graphene with Ph / 1=nT , thus allowing mobilities > 100 000
cm2V

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1 s

1 . Furthermore, the optical phonon energy of graphene is much higher than that in conventional
semiconductors 200 meV, and thus optical phonon scattering is not important at low energies.
Another phonon scattering mechanism that needs to be considered in supported graphene,
however, involves the surface phonon modes of polar insulator substrates/overlayers. These
surface phonon polaritons (SPPs) generate an electric field that couples with and scatters the
carriers in the graphene channel. This SPP mechanism has an activated temperature
dependence, determined by the phonon frequencies of the insulator , and can dominate the
mobility of very pure samples. Other scattering mechanisms that involve structural features of
the graphene will be addressed in Section VII. Intrinsic graphene exhibits unique electrical
characteristics, however, environmental interactions and high carrier densities present in
working devices can significantly impact these characteristics due to the scattering mechanisms
outlined above. The aim of current graphene research is to improve the graphene material
quality and control the interactions so as to optimize device performance. Given that graphene
does not have a bandgap, electrostatic confinement and inhibition of transport through
graphene is rather weak. A graphene field-effect transistor (GFET) cannot be turned off
completely, even though DOS ¼ 0 at the Dirac point ðEDiracÞ. A residual conductivity, the
so-called minimum conductivity, remains. This conductivity was originally thought to have a
universal value of Gmin ¼ 4e2=h, but we now know that it depends on the concentration of
defects and the structure (width/length ratio) of the device . The fact that the current in the
graphene channel cannot be completely turned off by a gate limits the GFET’s on/off ratio. At
ambient conditions, this ratio is typically less than 10, the exact number depending on the
quality of graphene and the effectiveness of the gating. Therefore, in its pristine form, a
graphene layer cannot be used as the channel in digital FETs. However, given its excellent
transport properties, it is a promising candidate for highfrequency [radio-frequency (RF)]
electronics.

1.5 Graphene Synthesis

While the facile isolation of graphene by graphite exfoliation gave the impetus for the
development of the graphene field, and much of the basic science on graphene was performed
on such exfoliated graphene flakes, technology requires the controlled, large-scale synthesis of
graphene. For most applications in electronics technology, one needs to have large-scale

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graphene on an insulating substrate, with the wafer form being ideal. Currently, two basic types
of largescale synthesis of graphene are utilized. One is based on the thermal decomposition of
SiC . By heating SiC wafers, typically in the presence of an argon background, to temperatures
around 1500 C, Si desorbs and the remaining carbon rebonds to form graphene on top of the
insulating SiC substrate. Both the growth rate and the characteristics of the resulting graphene
depend on the exposed SiC face, silicon or carbon. Growth is much faster on the C face,
typically leading to multilayer graphene, which becomes p-doped after exposure to the
environment (water and oxygen). Si-face growth is slower and, therefore, more controllable,
and the graphene is intrinsically n-doped. This n-doping arises from charge transfer from the
Si-rich underlayer, the so-called buffer layer. This effect can be eliminated by hydrogen
treatments at high temperatures, which saturate the Si dangling bonds . Another widely used
synthesis approach involves the growth of graphene on metals. There are two main mechanisms
by which this growth can proceed. One involves catalytic metals such as (Ni, Ru, Fe, Ir), which
can dissociate carbon precursors (e.g., CH4, C2H2) and dissolve significant amounts of carbon
at high temperatures . Upon cooling, the carbon segregates to the metal surface as graphene.
The other approach is a catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process where the precursor
is decomposed at elevated temperatures (> 1000 C) on a metal which has very limited solubility
for carbon. In most cases the metal used is copper .

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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE SURVEY

[1] Marco Marengo, Giovanni Marinaro and Jürgen Kosel, [Link]., “Flexible
Temperature and Flow Sensor from Laser-Induced Graphene”

Flexible flow and temperature sensors can be manufactured using a method called laser
induced graphene technology.A single-step fabrication process is employed, which allows
obtaining the conductive electrodes used as piezo resistors on the flexible substrate. A
commercial PI film is used as substrate material. The PI is carbonized through direct CO2
[Link] fabrication process of LIG on PI is the same as for the flow sensor, but PDMS coating
is not used since measurements are performed in air. Moreover, the contacts are made by
sputtering 100 nm of gold. The main reason for this is to maintain good electrical contact at
elevated temperatures, whereas the glue of the copper tape could melt and ruin the structure of
carbon compromising its conductivity. . The flow sensor is based on piezoresistive properties
of porous graphene and it is coated with a thin layer of PDMS to provide a wider spectrum of
applications both in fluid and gaseous media. Furthermore, the fast response and the simple
fabrication process make this sensor suitable for a wide range of applications. The temperature
sensor shows approximately 4% decrease in resistance when the temperature is raised from
22°C to 58°C.

Temperature and flow sensors are shown below in diagrams

Figure 2.1:- Flow sensor Figure 2.2:-Temperature sensor

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[2] Guangjie Yuan, Bo Shan, Shujing Chen, Yiqun Yang, Jie Bao, Nan Wang, Peng Su,
Shirong Huang, Yong Zhang, Lilei Ye and Johan Liu,[Link]., “Graphene-based Heat
Spreading Materials for Electronics Packaging Applications”

In this application we mainly make use of graphene-based film (GBF) and graphene-
based electrically conductive adhesive (G-CA) plays a very crucial role in heat spreading. It is
experimented by using High quality GBFs and G-CA. G-CA was prepared by epoxy resin,
reactive diluents, coupling agent, curing agent, silver flake, silver nanoparticles and graphene.
4wt% of graphene was introduced into the adhesive with a total silver loading of 75wt% by
weight. The thermal conductivity of G-CA was measured using laser flash method. The
thermal performances of G-CA and GBF were analyzed on thermal test chipby resistance
temperature detector (RTD) and thermal infrared imager. The thermalconductivity of G-CA
was measured usinglaser flash method, and it value was about 7.45 Wm-1K-1. G-CA was used
for reducing thethermal resistance between GBF and chip. Their thermal performance was
analyzed by resistance temperature detector (RTD) and thermal infrared imager, and the results
were shown in figures below.

Fig 2.3:- The relationship between chip temperature and the in-plane heat flux dissipated in a
bare hotspot and a hotspot covered by the GBF and G-CA.

Fig 2.4:- Temperature distribution of the power chip at heat flux of 580 W/cm2: (a) without
GBF and G-CA; (b) with GBF and G-CA.

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[3] Terirama Thingujam, Dhanu Chettri, Khomdram Jolson Singh, Manoj Kumar,
Thokchom Jayenta Singh, Subir Kumar Sarkar,[Link]., “Study and design of Graphene
Field Effect Transistor for RF performance”

Transistor is the most important component of all the electronic circuits. Gate
length of Si MOSFETs are continuously been downsized and by 2020 the International
Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) aim for gate -length less than 8 nm
MOSFETs following the Moore’s law. So, in order to meet the demand, searching a technology
beyond Silicon have become a hot topic recently. It is because of the limitation of Silicon. The
carrier mobility of silicon decreases as we aim for 7 nm. The carrier mobility of Silicon is
lesser than other semiconductor materials including Germanium which is a predecessor of
silicon. The decrease in the mobility matters for RF application. Figure below shows a GFET
model where Graphene is used in the channel. The charge in the channel can be controlled by
the gate biased voltage i.e. the channel conductivity can be changed by controlling the gate
biased voltage. In this paper, extensively analyses the effect of gate length to the characteristics
of the [Link] capacitances and resistances are developed between the layers which
affects the performance of the devices. So, in order to get the maximum performance, we need
to reduce the parasitic capacitances.

Fig 2.5:- Basic model of Graphene based FET (GFET)

The structure is simulated as the model shown in the fig.4. The device simulated is the pchannel
device. It has n+ source and drain. The channel length is taken to be 350nm, 225nm, 120nm,
20nm [16], the thickness of 5nm and doping concentration of 1x1015 cm-3.

Fig 2.6:- Simulated GFET structure

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[4] Bo Song, Kyoung-sik Moon, CP Wong, Yun Chen,[Link]., “Design of Miura Folding-
Based Micro-Supercapacitors as Foldable and Miniaturized Energy Storage Devices”

The rapid development of portable and wearable electronics has considerably

promoted the need for miniaturized energy storage devices. As an alternative to microbatteries,
micro-supercapacitor (MSC) has been developed to provide high micro-scale peak power. The
design merits of MSCs are that they are fabricated in planar interdigitated patterns with micro-
sized thin film electrodes. The utilization of in-plane micro-electrode patterns with fine pitch
dramatically shortens the charge diffusion distance, resulting in high frequency response and
high-power density. The carboxylate graphene was deposited onto pre-cleaned Kapton
substrate to make thin film electrodes. The gold current collector was deposited on graphene
electrodes via electron-beam evaporation. The interdigitated patterns were obtained by reactive
ion etching. The electrolyte was cast onto the micro-electrodes and dried in air to form the
gelled electrolyte. The single MSC pattern was attached onto the paper substrate and
electrically connected in both series and parallel configurations. The MSC patterns were placed
selectively at both front and back sides of the substrate to avoid the possible short-circuit issue.

Fig 2.7:- Schematic illustration of the Miura folding design for foldable MSC
arrays.

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[5] Shengjian Jammy Chen, Tran Thanh Tung,[Link]., “High-Efficiency Microwave

Graphene Antenna”

multilayer graphene films with a large area are demonstrated in this paper, based on
binder-free and surfactant-free graphene inks. The configuration and a prototype realization of
the antenna are shown in Fig. 1. This UWB antenna has one-layer conductor and one-layer
dielectric substrate as mechanical support. The conductor layer consists of two main parts,
namely an exponentially tapered patch as a typical UWB monopole and a coplanar waveguide
(CPW) as feeding structure. These two components operate together as a radiator with a
predominately vertical linear polarization. An identical antenna made of copper has also been
manufactured for direct comparison and evaluation of the antenna [Link] antennas
have nearly identical patterns with a slightly lower amplitude for the graphene antenna,
suggesting a slightly reduced efficiency. The simulated and measured radiation efficiencies
have an averaged value of 76% and 77%, respectively. Similarly, an averaged value of 79%
for the conduction efficiency is measured, which we believe is to date the highest reported
value for graphene antennas in the microwave region. A highly efficient UWB antenna based
on graphene films made of binder-free and surfactant-free graphene inks has been presented.
A nearly 80% measured radiation efficiency has been achieved, averaged over the 3.1 to 10.6
GHz operation frequency range.

Fig 2.8: A prototype realization graphene antenna

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[6] Kai-Ping Chang1, Han-Hsiang Tai1, Jer-Chyi Wang,[Link]., “ Graphene Nanodots

with High-K Dielectrics for Flash Memory Applications”

graphene nanodots have been fabricated and characterized as it has the potential for
nanodevices application. Here we show non-volatile memory devices based on the capacitor
structure by using graphene nanodots as the charge storage nodes. The graphene nanodots on
silicon dioxide tunneling barrier were fabricated by etching the graphene with gold
nanoparticles as self-aligned mask. Furthermore, different blocking oxide layer were also
adopted to optimize the memory characteristics, including retention and operation speed. The
memory of graphene nanodots with high-κ blocking oxide layer shows higher flat-band voltage
shift at low programming voltage, and excellent charge loss less than 12% after 104 sec,
potentially provides a promising route for non-volatile memory application.

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CHAPTER 3
IMPLIMENTATION

Flow and temperature sensor

A single-step fabrication process is employed, whichallows obtaining the conductive

electrodes used as piezo resistors on the flexible substrate. A commercial PI film (125 µm thick
from DuPont) is used as substrate material. The PI is carbonized through direct CO2 laser
writing (wavelength 10.6 µm, power 2 W, speed 16 mm/s, working distance 3 mm, 1000 pulses
per inch). This thermal process has been thoroughly characterized and we obtained the same
structure as shown by SEM and Raman spectroscopy. The sample is then prepared with the
following procedure. First, adhesive copper tape is applied on the two contact pads partially
covering them; subsequently, silver paint (purchased from TED Pella, USA) is applied to
connect LIG and copper, thus improving the stability of the contacts. Since the experiments
are conducted with tap water, a coating is necessary to protect the LIG electrodes from the
interaction with ions. The fabrication process of LIG on PI is the same as for the flow sensor,
but PDMS coating is not used since measurements are performed in air. Moreover, the contacts
are made by sputtering 100 nm of gold. The main reason for this is to maintain good electrical
contact at elevated temperatures, whereas the glue of the copper tape could melt and ruin the
structure of carbon compromising its conductivity.

Heat spreading material

High quality GBFs were supplied by SHT Smart High-Tech AB, and their thickness
were 20 μm [15, 16]. G-CA was prepared by epoxy resin, reactive diluents, coupling agent,
curing agent, silver flake, silver nanoparticles and graphene. 4wt% of graphene was introduced
into the adhesive with a total silver loading of 75wt% by weight. The thermal conductivity of
G-CA was measured using laser flash method. The thermal performances of G-CA and GBF
were analyzed on thermal test chip by resistance temperature detector (RTD) and thermal
infrared imager. To analyze the thermal performance of the G-CA and GBF applied as heat
spreading materials in 3D electronics packaging, the heat propagation on the top surface of
chip was simulated without GBF and G-CA, only with G-CA, only with GBF, and with GBF
and G-CA. The simulation work was carried out by COMSOL, using “Heat Transfer in Solids”
module. The model geometries were shown in figure 1. The thickness and size of G -CA were
assumed to be 0.3 mm and 100 mm2. For the GBF, its thickness and size were assumed to be

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20 μm and 256 mm2. The diameter and height of through-silicon-vias (TSVs) were assumed
to be 600 and 350 μm. For the platinum hotspot, its thickness and size were assumed to be 50
μm and 1.6×105 μm2. Other parameters were obtained from the material library of COMSOL.

Graphene Field Effect Transistor

The main challenge the Silicon based transistor is facing is the low carrier mobility in
fact, RF devices should have high carrier mobility, hence the high carrier mobility makes
graphene more suitable material for RF applications. The ballistic charge transport of graphene
makes it a good channel material. The small signal equivalent model of the GFET device is
shown below in the fig.3 without considering the parasitic capacitances and gate impedances.
It is based on the modified drift-diffusion model. For the study of RF performance, the device
is operated in the on-state and RF performance is analyzed in terms of the small -signal
equivalent circuit. In the circuit shown in, gmis the intrinsic gate transconductance, gD is the
output conductance, CGS is the gate-to-source and the gate-todrain (CGD) capacitances. RD
and RS are the drain and the source access resistances, respectively. The parasitic capacitances
and the intrinsic transconductance which are the parameters for the measure of RF performance
of the device are also obtained through ac analysis. Further, the cut-off frequency and the
maximum oscillation frequency that can be obtained from the plots can estimate the high
frequency performance of GFET by parameter extraction. It can be concluded from the results
that the current increases with higher value of V DS, saturation velocity increases with the
downscaling of gate length and graphene and the GFET model can be successfully simulated
using TCAD.

Micro-Supercapacitors

Graphene powders were provided by Institute of Coal Chemistry, China. Kapton FPC
film was acquired from Dupont. The acid solutions were purchased from VWR International.
The graphene powders and concentrated sulfuric acid were mixed and stirred at 500 rpm. Then
nitric acid was added into the solution and stirred at room temperature. After the reaction, large
amount of water was slowly added to dilute the acid. The carboxylated graphene (C-G) was
purified by washing with water for several times under vacuum. The aqueous dispersion of C-
G was used for electrode deposition. The carboxylated graphene was deposited onto pre-
cleaned Kapton substrate to make thin film electrodes. The gold current collector was deposited
on graphene electrodes via electron-beam evaporation. The interdigitated patterns were

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 Application Of Graphene To Electronic Devices

obtained by reactive ion etching. The electrolyte was cast onto the micro-electrodes and dried
in air to form the gelled [Link] single MSC pattern was attached onto the paper
substrate and electrically connected in both series and parallel configurations. The MSC
patterns were placed selectively at both front and back sides of the substrate to avoid the
possible short-circuit issue.

Microwave Graphene Antenna

The graphene antenna is designed and optimized based on CST Microwave Studio
2016. The configuration and a prototype realization of the antenna are shown in Fig. 1. This
UWB antenna has one-layer conductor and one-layer dielectric substrate as mechanical
support. The conductor layer consists of two main parts, namely an exponentially tapered patch
as a typical UWB monopole and a coplanar waveguide (CPW) as feeding structure. These two
components operate together as a radiator with a predominately vertical linear polarization.
The broadband antenna performance is achieved through the smooth antenna intrinsic
impedance transition from the feed to free space, which is formed by the two exponentially
tapered edges and the two slanted top CPW edges. The CPW center conductor width W3 and
its slot width W5 are two key parameters in the antenna design, since they dictate the CPW
characteristic impedance which influences the antenna matching. The antenna conductor is
made from a purpose-made graphene thin film whereas the substrate is based on a com-mon
transparent sticky tape. The graphene films are realized through vacuum filtration using high
quality pristine graphene inks. These inks were prepared by liquid phase exfoliation of
expanded graphite in graphene oxide aqueous suspension, in which graphene oxide was
prepared by the modified Hummers method. This critical combination of sufficient
conductivity and thickness, resulting in a very low DC sheet resistance approximately 0.3
Ω/square, is adequate for the operation as microwave antenna.

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CHAPTER 4

APPLICATIONS

Electronic skin

Flexible electronics has shown that conventional, silicon wafer-based fabrication

techniques can be modified to apply electronics conformally to the heterogeneous topography
of the skin. in a recent Nano work Spotlight, we covered design considerations and recent
progress in the development of electronic skin. An international multidisciplinary team
including researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the National
Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) has extended ideas from these
previous works to enable continuous mapping the temperature of curved, moving skin – or
other tissue – to a precision better than 0.02 °C

Fig 4.1:- electronic skin

Future directions in this field of stretchable, bio integrated electronics include more advanced
circuitry in stretchable formats to enable more complex health monitoring, electronics that can
be designed to resorb into the body after a certain amount of time, and advanced electronic
surgical devices that are not limited to rigid plastic or metal tools.

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Heat Sinks

The composite graphene combines several technologies to provide good diffusivity,

thermal conductivity, and thermal radiation. Pure single-layer graphene has a thermal
conductivity of 5300 w/km. Single layer graphene film heat sink maximum thermal radiation
emissivity-coefficients is 0.93, the composite structure can enhance the emissivitycoefficients
to [Link] structure thanks to graphene coating technology can make the thermal diffusivity
can be 2.2 ~ 3 times of copper, also provide a very higher thermal radiation than single layer
graphene [Link] are several layers is optional such as graphene EMI layer, graphite
layer and metal layer depending on customer needed structure, the metal layer can create a
structure such as shielding case with thermal management and heat sink function or chip
package case.

Fig 4.2:- Graphene film and heat sink

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 Application Of Graphene To Electronic Devices

GFET

Graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) take the typical FET device and insert a graphene
channel ten of microns in size between the source and drain. Being graphene, a lattice of carbon
atoms that is only one atom thick, the channels in GFETs have unprecedented sensitivity,
which can be exploited on a wide variety of applications such as photo sensing, magnetic
sensing and biosensing.

Fig 4.3:- GFET

The two-dimensional structure of graphene has a number of benefits over bulk semiconductors,
such as silicon, used in standard FETs. Because most semiconductor transistor sensors are
three-dimensional, electric charge changes at the surface of channel do not always penetrate
deeper into the device. This can dramatically limit the response sensitivity of the device. On
the other hand, as the graphene in a GFET is only one carbon atom thick, the entire channel is
now on the surface, which directly exposes the channel to any molecules present in the nearby
environment.

Fig 4.4:- Fabricated GFET

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Flexible Phones

Futuristic-looking bendable tablets and smartphones have captured our imagination for years.
Whether it’s the folding tablets found in Westworld or the many book-like slates with foldable
pages in Microsoft’s future vision videos, a phone that folds out into a much larger device is
dreamlike. Samsung is now trying to make these wild concepts a reality.

The Galaxy maker showed off its new Infinity Flex Display yesterday, a display technology
that will allow a tablet-sized screen to fold into a device that approximates the size and shape
of a smartphone. While we’ve seen flexible and bendable wearable devices, this is one of the
first times we’ve seen such a display in a phone that’s rumored to ship in 2019. Samsung’s
device was “disguised” by what appears to be a chunky case, and shown only under dim light,
but it’s far more than just concept art.

Fig 4.5:- Flexible wearable phone

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 Application Of Graphene To Electronic Devices

Flexible graphene antenna

We describe the fabrication and characterization of Near-Field Communication (NFC) devices

based on highly flexible, carbon-based antennas composed of stacked graphene multilayers.
This material features a high value of conductivity (4.20 * 105 S/m) comparable to
monocrystalline graphite, but is much more flexible and processable. We first studied the
replacement of metal with carbon antennas using computer modeling, to select the best design.
The inductance of the G-paper antennas was tested before and after hundreds of thousands of
bending cycles at bending radii of 45 and 90 mm. During bending the selfresonance frequency
and inductance peak showed minimal variation and the resistance at 1 MHz changed from
33.09 X to 34.18 X, outperforming standard, commercial metallic antennas. The devices were
successfully tested by exchanging data with a smartphone and other commercial NFC readers,
matching the performance of standard, commercial metallic antennas. The graphene antennas
could be deposited on different standard polymeric substrates or on textiles. Smart cards,
flexible NFC tags and wearable NFC bracelets were prepared in this way to be used in
electronic keys, business cards and other typical NFC applications.

Fig 4.6:-Graphene based flexible antenna

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CHAPTER 5

ADVANTAGES

• It is the thinnest material known and with that also the strongest.
• It consists of a single layer of carbon atoms and is both pliable and transparent.
• It is a superb conductor of both heat and electricity.
• It is used in the production of high-speed electronic devices responsible for fast te
chnological changes.
• Chemical sensors effective at detecting explosives. Membranes for more efficient
separation of gases.
• These membranes are made from sheets from which Nano scale pores have been
created.
• Transistors that operate at higher frequency as compared to others.
• It has led to the production of lower costs of display screens in mobile devices by
replacing indiumbased electrodes in organic light emittingdiodes(OLED) which al
so lower power consumption
• Used in the production of lithium-ion batteries that recharge faster. These batteries
use graphene on the anode surface.
• Storing Hydrogen for fuel cell powered cars.
• Low cost water desalination by using graphene-with holes the size of a nanometer
to remove ions from water.
• Fast response and simple fabrication process in case of sensors
• Very good heat dissipation due to very good heat conducting property
• Can withstand high temperatures
• Very hard to break because of its high strength and flexibility
• Optically transparency can help in making transparent displays

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CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION

Graphene has excellent and unique properties, and is therefore expected to find many
applications. In this paper, we briefly review its application to transistors and transparent
electrodes. We also describe some of our results regarding LSI interconnects and gas sensors.
As described here, graphene-based devices can exhibit performance better than that of the
conventional devices. In order to put them into market, however, further improvements in
synthesis and process technologies are still necessary. A flexible temperature sensor and a flow
sensor are fabricated by the same method and on the same substrate, i.e. by laserinduced
graphene electrodes on Kapton. The polyimide film serves as flexible insulating substrate while
the porous carbon structure induced by laser irradiation is the sensing material. The flow sensor
is based on piezoresistive properties of porous graphene and it is coated with a thin layer of
PDMS to provide a wider spectrum of applications both in fluid and gaseous media.
Furthermore, the fast response and the simple fabrication process make this sensor suitable for
a wide range of applications. The temperature sensor shows approximately 4% decrease in
resistance when the temperature is raised from 22°C to 58°C.

The results show the high versatility of the materials and fabrication process used. Size and
shape can be easily optimized for different applications in micro and macro scale. Both sensors
are flexible, light weight and cheap, making this concept attractive for wearable and
multifunctional sensors.

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CHAPTER 7

FUTURE SCOPE

A novel GFET structure have been designed, simulated and extensively study of RF
performance is presented using TCAD simulation tool also the characteristics of GFET for
different gate length are analyzed. The parasitic capacitances and the intrinsic
transconductance which are the parameters for the measure of RF performance of the device
are also obtained through ac [Link], the cut-off frequency and the maximum
oscillation frequency that can be obtained from the plots can estimate the high frequency
performance of GFET by parameter extraction and the obtained value is listed in the table 1. It
can be concluded from the results that the current increases with higher value of V DS,
saturation velocity increases with the downscaling of gate length and graphene and the GFET
model can be successfully simulated using TCAD.

Both of G -CA and GBF were important for heat spreading in electronics packaging. From
the results analyzed by RTD and thermal infrared imager, the temperature of hotspot obviously
decreased with GBF and G-CA, compared with the bare chip. The thermal performances of
them were also analyzed by COMSOL in 3D electronics packaging. The distribution of
temperature and temperature profiles were analyzed on the top surface of chip without GBF
and G-CA, only with G-CA, only with GBF, and with GBF and G- CA. Compared with others,
the temperature of hotspot was the lowest and the distribution of temperature was the most
uniform by using both of GBF and G-CA.

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CHAPTER 8

REFERENCES

1. Marco Marengo, Giovanni Marinaro and Jürgen Kosel, “Flexible Temperature and
Flow Sensor from Laser-Induced Graphene”, IEEE Conference, 2017.
2. Guangjie Yuan, Bo Shan, Shujing Chen, Yiqun Yang, Jie Bao, Nan Wang, Peng Su,
Shirong Huang, Yong Zhang, Lilei Ye and Johan Liu, “Graphene-based Heat
Spreading Materials for Electronics Packaging Applications”, IEEE Conference
IMAPS Nordic Conference on Microelectronics Packaging (NordPac), 2017.
3. Terirama Thingujam, Dhanu Chettri, Khomdram Jolson Singh, Manoj Kumar,
Thokchom Jayenta Singh, Subir Kumar Sarkar, “Study and design of Graphene Field
Effect Transistor for RF performance”, IEEE Conference (ICICCT), 2017.
4. Bo Song, Kyoung-sik Moon, CP Wong, Yun Chen, “Design of Miura Folding-Based
Micro-Supercapacitors as Foldable and Miniaturized Energy Storage Devices”,
IEEE 67th Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), 2017
5. Shengjian Jammy Chen, Tran Thanh Tung, “High-Efficiency Microwave Graphene
Antenna”, IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation &
USNC/URSI National Radio Science Meeting, 2017.

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