A patterning technology of transfer-free graphene for transparent electrodes of near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

Abstract

Graphene is well known for its excellent physical and chemical properties and can be used in various fields. Its application technology has become an important direction of research. In this study, a patterning technology of transfer-free graphene is reported, and graphene transparent electrodes of near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are fabricated accordingly. In the scheme, Ni film plays the dual role of an etching mask and graphene growth catalyst, realizing the patterning growth of graphene. An SiO₂ isolation layer is deposited between Ni and the substrate, avoiding the fusing of the substrate with Ni by the high temperature of graphene growth, which makes the method applicable to nominally any high temperature-compatible metal and semiconductor substrates. Both Ni and SiO₂ are then removed, thus directly achieving a good contact between graphene and the substrate. The graphene transparent electrodes fabricated by this method greatly improves the performance of near-ultraviolet LEDs, which is even better than that of indium tin oxide (ITO) in the near-ultraviolet band based on the optical measurement results. This scheme avoids any possible damage and contamination of graphene in traditional transfer and lithography patterning processes, which is scalable and suitable for real applications.