Growth and characterization of Graphene

Graphene, a single sheet of Carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb crystal lattice, has become the most promising material to built flexible and transparent electronics. The most promising methods to produce large-area Graphene are physical and chemical vapor depositions (PVD-CVD). In this work we will first introduce Graphene and some of its physical properties. Then we will concentrate on the characterization techniques used to investigate this material, such as Raman spectroscopy and SEM imaging. The third part of the work is dedicated to a survey of the Graphene growth and isolation methods. In particular the aspects of thin film deposition and crystallization will be reviewed. Last, we will present the results obtained in the Surfaces, Thin films & Nanostructures laboratory in the University of L’Aquila (Italy) on Graphene growth on Ni thin films by carbon precipitation using as carbon sources both solid amorphous carbon and gaseous CH4.