LAGS / Laser Assisted Graphene Synthesis

Graphene and graphene-based structures are synthesized today using a variety of chemical and physical methods, including liquid exfoliation, CVD, etc. However, none of them has ended up as a viable technology proper for large scale production of high quality graphene. Lasers have shown great potential in tackling this issue as they offer a number of advantages as they can provide a fast, low-cost, and environmentally friendly approach, being at the same time adaptable to current technological platforms.

Few investigations have appeared so far aimed at producing graphene using laser beams by decomposing inorganic carbides and organic substances, while much more systematic approaches have been undertaken for processing of graphene oxide (GO) towards obtaining reduced graphene oxide (rGO).

Irradiation experiments can be conducted using near- and mid-infrared laser wavelengths. In particular, recent advances concerning the laser-assisted growth of graphene and graphene-based structures are related to: (i) the growth of epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001) using a continuous wave infrared CO₂ laser (10.6 μm), (ii) the preparation of graphene-coated SiC particles, and (iii) the reduction of GO to rGO of ultralow sheet resistance using ms pulsed near-IR laser sources.