Facile synthesis of graphene on single mode fiber via chemical vapor deposition

•We introduce a facile way for the direct formation of graphene on single mode fiber.•The influence of the gas flow is discussed in detail.•Uniform graphene film is obtained with larger gas flow.•Carbon nanotubes are fabricated with lower gas flow.

Direct deposition of graphene film on the standard single mode fiber is offered using a Cu-vapor-assisted chemical vapor deposition system. The gas flow of H2 and Ar before the growth process plays a crucial role for the direct deposition of the graphene film and the layers of the graphene can be controlled by the growth time. With a large gas flow, Cu atoms are carried off with the gas flow and hard to deposit on the surface of the single mode fiber before the growth process. Consequently, uniform graphene film is obtained in this case. On the contrary, with a lower one, Cu atoms is facile to deposit on the surface of the single mode fiber and form nanodots acting as active catalytic sites for the growth of carbon nanotubes. This method presents us a promising transfer-free technique for fabrication of the photonic applications.