Controlling charility and pinhole defects in Ni catalyst for synthesis of graphene

Controlling the growth of proper crystal morphology and defect density in Ni catalyst are necessary ingredients for achieving precision number of graphene layers [1] and good yields in CMOS transistor device fabrication. The size of grains can be controlled during sputter deposition but the apparent effects in charility are not apparent until after the high temperature annealing process. XRD analysis has been utilized to show degrees of transformation due to controlling variations in sputter gas pressure and temperature. These parameters can accelerate or postponed the final the preferred orientation of the film. The final grain size of the annealed Ni affects the minimum amount of H2 needed to prevent oxidation during the graphene synthesis.