Adhesion improvement of graphene/copper interface using UV/ozone treatments

The weak adhesion between graphene and its substrate is a potentially significant problem for graphene-based electronic devices. However, quantitative studies on adhesion improvement between graphene and its substrate using simple surface treatments have not yet been reported. In this study, we report the adhesion improvement of the graphene/copper interface using a UV/ozone treatment. The adhesion energy is measured directly using double cantilever beam fracture mechanics testing. A significantly improved adhesion energy of 2.10 ± 0.27 J/m2 is achieved with 15 min of UV/ozone treatment; the improved adhesion energy is approximately 200% of that without treatment. The chemical modification of the graphene/copper interface is also characterized using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS).