Large Area Graphene Growth and Characterization

Graphene is an exciting new material with exceptional electronic properties. For graphene to become widely used in future electronics applications, optimization of the graphene growth processes is essential. At Oregon State University we have installed a new chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system to improve the quality of large-area (12" x 36") graphene films. Our CVD system has a number of unique capabilities including operating pressures below $10^{-6}$Torr and water vapor cleaning to refresh the chamber walls. We will present an overview of the CVD process, the design of our system, and methods we use to characterize graphene surface coverage, grain size and atomic defects. Preliminary results from our growth system will be discussed.