title: Graphitized silicon carbide microbeams: wafer-level, self-aligned graphene on silicon wafers.
abstract: Currently proven methods that are used to obtain devices with high-quality graphene on silicon wafers involve the transfer of graphene flakes from a growth substrate, resulting in fundamental limitations for large-scale device fabrication. Moreover, the complex three-dimensional structures of interest for microelectromechanical and nanoelectromechanical systems are hardly compatible with such transfer processes. Here, we introduce a methodology for obtaining thousands of microbeams, made of graphitized silicon carbide on silicon, through a site-selective and wafer-scale approach. A Ni-Cu alloy catalyst mediates a self-aligned graphitization on prepatterned SiC microstructures at a temperature that is compatible with silicon technologies. The graphene nanocoating leads to a dramatically enhanced electrical conductivity, which elevates this approach to an ideal method for the replacement of conductive metal films in silicon carbide-based MEMS and NEMS devices.
authors: Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan 4111, Queensland, Australia.
authors: Benjamin V
authors: BV
authors: Cunning
authors: Mohsin
authors: M
authors: Ahmed
authors: Neeraj
authors: N
authors: Mishra
authors: Atieh Ranjbar
authors: AR
authors: Kermany
authors: Barry
authors: B
authors: Wood
authors: Francesca
authors: F
authors: Iacopi