Synthesis of Graphene and Other 2D Material: The Past and Future of Chemical Vapor Deposition

Over the past seven years, chemical vapor deposition has emerged as the preferred technique for the synthesis of graphene films on metal as well as other substrates. Commercial cell phones with a graphene touch screen have been introduced and roll-to-roll production tools have been demonstrated. The deposition temperature is also reduced from >1000 degrees C to similar to 400 degrees C with a plasma-enhanced process. For device applications, a seeded growth of single-crystal graphene at predetermined location technique has been developed to avoid the detrimental effects of the grain boundaries. The application of chemical vapor deposition and seeded growth to transition metal dichalcogenides is now under investigation.