title: Ultra-smooth glassy graphene thin films for flexible transparent circuits.
abstract: Large-area graphene thin films are prized in flexible and transparent devices. We report on a type of glassy graphene that is in an intermediate state between glassy carbon and graphene and that has high crystallinity but curly lattice planes. A polymer-assisted approach is introduced to grow an ultra-smooth (roughness, <0.7 nm) glassy graphene thin film at the inch scale. Owing to the advantages inherited by the glassy graphene thin film from graphene and glassy carbon, the glassy graphene thin film exhibits conductivity, transparency, and flexibility comparable to those of graphene, as well as glassy carbon-like mechanical and chemical stability. Moreover, glassy graphene-based circuits are fabricated using a laser direct writing approach. The circuits are transferred to flexible substrates and are shown to perform reliably. The glassy graphene thin film should stimulate the application of flexible transparent conductive materials in integrated circuits.
authors.affiliation: College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy and Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 7JE, U.K.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
authors.forename: Zhicheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jian
authors.affiliation: College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy and Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
authors.forename: Yingjie
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0951-2542
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy and Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.; Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 34, Zabrze 41-819, Poland.
authors.forename: Mark H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rummeli
authors.affiliation: College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy and Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
authors.forename: Qinghua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 7JE, U.K.
authors.forename: Huiyun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy and Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
authors.forename: Guifu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zou
keywords: Flexible; conducting; glassy graphene; graphene; laser direct writing; transparent; ultra-smooth