Comparative analysis of graphene grown on copper and nickel sheet by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition

Microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) is expected to prepare graphene film at a low temperature and a short growth time. So the same and different process conditions were designed to deposit graphene on Cu and Ni sheets. Despite the atom arrangement of Cu (111) and Ni (111) corresponding to graphene, the different films were obtained at the same process due to the difference in electron configuration of 3d shell of two elements. Carbon atoms penetrated into Ni sheet and segregated to form graphene while graphene film was grown on Cu surface directly. The different growth mechanism resulted in different preparation conditions on substrates where graphene grown on copper sheet preferred mild conditions. It is high energy and large density of microwave plasma that leads to dense surface of substrate and strong etching on graphene film, which is different from chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process.