Self-assembled graphene on dielectric micro- and nanostructures

We demonstrate one-step chemical vapor deposition of a few layer graphene on a dielectric substrate. The proposed technique relies on the controllable dewetting of the pre-deposited liquefied copper catalyst and enables incorporation of graphene into dielectric nanostructures. In the CVD chamber carbon atoms diffuse via the liquefied boundaries of the microscopic copper grains that constitute the pre-deposited film and form a few layer graphene on the copper-substrate interface. The developed technique opens a way of fabricating graphene-enhanced photonic and optoelectronic nanostructures. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.