Copper NanoWire Growth
and Analysis for Graphene
Construction
Thaddeus J. Krawczyk, Jr.
Computer Engineer ’14
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Agenda
• Reasons for studying copper nanowire growth
• Growth and deposition techniques
• Methods of analysis and results
• Potential usage in graphene construction
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Background
• Graphene is a single layer
of hexagonal carbon
atoms.
• It can be made to have
semiconducting properties
that make it a potential
replacer of silicon in
electronics.
• Primarily “grown” on metal
Image Courtesy hplusmagazine.com
plates
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Growing Copper NanoWires
• Grown by oxidizing
copper in a furnace
• When copper oxidizes it
“grows”
• Primarily grows on edges
of surface
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Microscopy
• Primary tools for analysis
were the Philips XL30
ESEM-FEG and the
Philips CM200 TEM
• Scanning and
Transmission Electron
Microscopy
Image Courtesy of ITG Beckman
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Growth Results
Copper Copper
Grids Wool
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Deposition on Another
Surface
• Deposition to another
substrate was needed for
further processing
• SiO2 was chosen as the
substrate
• Various methods used
• ESEM confirms success
of all methods, varied
effectiveness
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Oxidation
• Was the copper fully
oxidized?
• TEM analysis shows that
it might have copper core
• Acetic acid bath was
necessary to confirm
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Acetic Acid Etching
• Sample was placed in
acetic acid bath
• After removal, was dried
and then analyzed using
an ESEM
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Next Steps
• Graphene growth is being performed on the wires using
a clean room environment
• Analysis of the copper to determine graphene growth
• Make electronics that utilize the graphene
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Acknowledgements
• Joshua D. Wood
• Professor Joseph W. Lyding
• STM Group
• ITG staff and facilities
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