Roll-To-Roll Electrostatic Printing for Manufacturing Few-Layer-Graphenes

这笔赠款提供资金用于开发基于辊的静电印刷系统，用于大规模生产原始，有序排列的少层石墨烯结构，用于电子和光电子学的规模化应用。本论文的主要研究目标是：（1）实验研究卷对卷和卷对板静电转移印刷工艺，旨在实现在英寸级宽衬底上以高产量连续生产少层石墨烯器件图案;（ii）取得─深入了解与货车德瓦尔斯固体的原子层状结构的精确剥离相关的基本科学机制，（iii）定量识别关键处理参数（例如印刷压力、电强度和辊速度）在转印效率、衬底上石墨烯厚度的均匀性、缺陷密度和印刷石墨烯的电性质方面对最终印刷质量的影响;以及（iv）探索静电印刷在石墨烯基光学器件制造中的新应用。这项工作的成功完成将广泛地为高性能光学器件领域的基础知识做出贡献。加速了制造技术的发展，并显著扩大了处理新兴原子层材料的能力。预期所提出的卷对卷静电印刷技术如果成功实现，将在与最佳结晶石墨的材料结晶度相当的高度材料结晶度、用于实现多尺度图案化的高度简单性、50英尺/分钟的高卷对卷生产量、和低于$2/m2的低图案化成本。它还具有发展成为具有成本效益，环境友好型工业制造工艺的巨大潜力，可以满足全球对未来能源需求和美国工业竞争力的需求。此外，该计划将提供新的教育和推广机会，让K-12学生和代表性不足的本科生参与制造业相关的研究活动。

This grant provides funding to develop roller-based electrostatic printing systems for massively producing pristine, orderly arranged few-layer-graphene structures for scale-up applications in electronics and optoelectronics. The primary research objectives are to (i) experimentally study roll-to-roll and roll-to-plate electrostatic transfer-printing processes, aiming to enable the continuous production of device patterns of few-layer-graphenes on inch-scale wide substrates with a high throughput; (ii) obtain an in-depth understanding of underlying scientific mechanisms associated with the precise exfoliation of atomically layered structures of van der Waals solids through the modeling of roll-to-roll processes using dynamic simulation tools; (iii) quantitatively identify the effects of key processing parameters, such as printing pressure, electric strength, and roller speed on the final printing quality in terms of transfer efficiency, uniformity of graphene thickness over substrates, density of defects, and electrical properties of printed graphenes; and (iv) explore the novel application of electrostatic printing in the fabrication of graphene-based optical devices.The successful completion of this work will broadly contribute fundamental knowledge in the areas of high-speed manufacturing technologies and significantly expand the capability to process emerging atomically layered materials. It is anticipated that the proposed roll-to-roll electrostatic printing techniques, if successfully realized, will surpass the capability of current technologies for producing few-layer-graphenes in terms of a high degree of material crystallinity comparable to that of the best crystal graphite, a high degree of simplicity for realizing multi-scale patterning, a high roll-to-roll throughput 50 ft/min, and a low patterning cost less than $2/m2. It also holds the significant potential to be developed into cost-effective, environment-friendly industrial manufacturing processes that can address global needs for addressing future energy needs and US industrial competitiveness. In addition, the program will provide new education and outreach opportunities for involving K-12 students and underrepresented undergraduates into manufacturing-related research activities.