Effects of Cu substrate surface fluctuations on graphene during transfer

•The effects of the Cu surface fluctuations on the graphene transfer were studied.•The graphene was redistributed rather than directly copied to the target substrate during the transfer.•The fluctuations on the Cu surface may induce the residual of PMMA and damage in the transfer.

This study investigated the influence of the copper substrate surface fluctuations on the transfer of graphene fabricated via chemical vapor deposition. Typical fluctuations, such as reconstructed stripes, grain boundaries, and mechanical creases on Cu surface were explored. The upper graphene which have consistent morphology with the fluctuations were not incompletely copied into the target but by rearrangement after the transfer process. Moreover, some fluctuations may induce damage or glue residual formation in the transfer process.