Etch rate of graphene with and without protective layer in plasma environments
Contact: Wesley van den Beld, w.t.e.vandenbeld@utwente.nl
Introduction
Graphene is a mechanically strong and optically transparent material suited for fabricating freestanding conductive see-through membranes for numerous applications such as filtration, sensor and optic applications. The challenge of graphene is to make it more chemical resistive, especially during plasma treatments. This could increase the lifetime of the graphene for several applications such as EUV optics, see also: https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036546577 and https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2280560.
Assignment
- Characterize the etching process of multi-layer graphene in harsh reactive environments such as H2 and O2 plasma as function of process power and time
- Investigate to what extent a protective layer increases the chemical resistivity of graphene for these reactive plasma treatments
- Work in the Nanolab cleanroom: attend necessary introductions/courses to work with plasma systems
- Literature study on the chemistry of graphene surfaces which could lead to etching
- Compose a project plan of the proposed research
- Perform reactive plasma exposure test to graphene with and without protective layer
- Characterize this etching process in terms of etch rate
- Write a concise report with your findings
