Mass measurement of graphene using quartz crystal microbalances

Mass measurement of graphene using quartz crystal microbalances

Dolleman, R.J. (TU Delft QN/Steeneken Lab; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft)
Hsu, Z. (Student TU Delft; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft)
Vollebregt, S. (TU Delft Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
Sader, John E. (University of Melbourne)
van der Zant, H.S.J. (TU Delft QN/van der Zant Lab; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft)
Steeneken, P.G. (TU Delft Dynamics of Micro and Nano Systems; TU Delft QN/Steeneken Lab; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft)
Ghatkesar, M.K. (TU Delft Micro and Nano Engineering)

2019

Current wafer-scale fabrication methods for graphene-based electronics and sensors involve the transfer of single-layer graphene by a support polymer. This often leaves some polymer residue on the graphene, which can strongly impact its electronic, thermal, and mechanical resonance properties. To assess the cleanliness of graphene fabrication methods, it is thus of considerable interest to quantify the amount of contamination on top of the graphene. Here, we present a methodology for the direct measurement of the mass of the graphene sheet using quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs). By monitoring the QCM resonance frequency during removal of graphene in an oxygen plasma, the total mass of the graphene and contamination is determined with sub-graphene-monolayer accuracy. Since the etch-rate of the contamination is higher than that of graphene, quantitative measurements of the mass of contaminants below, on top, and between graphene layers are obtained. We find that polymer-based dry transfer methods can increase the mass of a graphene sheet by a factor of 10. The presented mass measurement method is conceptually straightforward to interpret and can be used for standardized testing of graphene transfer procedures in order to improve the quality of graphene devices in future applications.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:00399847-0190-4b81-aaaa-9ab2264c1f23

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5111086

2020-01-29

0003-6951

Applied Physics Letters, 115 (5)

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© 2019 R.J. Dolleman, Z. Hsu, S. Vollebregt, John E. Sader, H.S.J. van der Zant, P.G. Steeneken, M.K. Ghatkesar