Large scale metal-free synthesis of graphene on sapphire and transfer-free device fabrication

Metal catalyst-free growth of large scale single layer graphene film on a sapphire substrate by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process at 950 °C is demonstrated. A top-gated graphene field effect transistor (FET) device is successfully fabricated without any transfer process. The detailed growth process is investigated by the atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies.