Bharati Gupta

A thin film approach for SiC-derived graphene as an on-chip electrode for supercapacitors

We designed a nickel-assisted process to obtain graphene with sheet resistance as low as 80 Ω square(-1) from silicon carbide films on Si wafers with highly enhanced surface area. The silicon carbide film acts as both a template and source of graphitic carbon, while, simultaneously, the nickel induces porosity on the surface of the film by forming silicides during the annealing process which are subsequently removed. As stand-alone electrodes in supercapacitors, these transfer-free graphene-on-chip samples show a typical double-layer supercapacitive behaviour with gravimetric capacitance of up to 65 F g(-1). This work is the first attempt to produce graphene with high surface area from silicon carbide thin films for energy storage at the wafer-level and may open numerous opportunities for on-chip integrated energy storage applications.

Transfer of CVD-grown graphene for room temperature gas sensors

An easy transfer procedure to obtain graphene-based gas sensing devices operating at room temperature (RT) is presented. Starting from chemical vapor deposition-grown graphene on copper foil, we obtained single layer graphene which could be transferred onto arbitrary substrates. In particular, we placed single layer graphene on top of a SiO2/Si substrate with pre-patterned Pt electrodes to realize a chemiresistor gas sensor able to operate at RT. The responses to ammonia (10, 20, 30 ppm) and nitrogen dioxide (1, 2, 3 ppm) are shown at different values of relative humidity, in dark and under 254 nm UV light. In order to check the sensor selectivity, gas response has also been tested towards hydrogen, ethanol, acetone and carbon oxide. Finally, a model based on linear dispersion relation characteristic of graphene, which take into account humidity and UV light effects, has been proposed.

Growth of graphene on cylindrical copper conductors as an anticorrosion coating: a microscopic study

We have successfully grown graphene film on the surface of cylindrical copper conductors by chemical vapour deposition. The quality and number of graphene layers have been investigated using Raman spectroscopy, Raman mapping and scanning electron microscopy, as a function of methane gas flow rate and of growth temperature. Transmission electron microscopy analysis has been performed to verify the number of graphene layers, confirming the results obtained by Raman spectroscopy. The results open up the possibility of using graphene as an anticorrosion coating for copper cables and earth grids.

Effect of substrate polishing on the growth of graphene on 3C-SiC(111)/Si(111) by high temperature annealing

We analyse the effects of substrate polishing and of the epilayer thickness on the quality of graphene layers grown by high temperature annealing on 3C-SiC(111)/Si(111) by scanning tunnelling microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, low energy electron diffraction and high resolution angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The results provide a comprehensive set of data confirming the superior quality of the graphene layers obtained on polished substrates, and the limitations of the growth obtained on unpolished surfaces.

High quality epitaxial graphene by hydrogen-etching of 3C-SiC(111) thin-film on Si(111)

Etching with atomic hydrogen, as a preparation step before the high-temperature growth process of graphene onto a thin 3C-SiC film grown on Si(111), greatly improves the structural quality of topmost graphene layers. Pit formation and island coalescence, which are typical of graphene growth by SiC graphitization, are quenched and accompanied by widening of the graphene domain sizes to hundreds of nanometers, and by a significant reduction in surface roughness down to a single substrate bilayer. The surface reconstructions expected for graphene and the underlying layer are shown with atomic resolution by scanning tunnelling microscopy. Spectroscopic features typical of graphene are measured by core-level photoemission and Raman spectroscopy.