Polymer-free graphene transfer for enhanced reliability of graphene field-effect transistors

We propose a polymer-free graphene transfer technique for chemical vapor deposition-grown graphene to ensure the intrinsic electrical properties of graphene for reliable transistor applications. The use of a metal catalyst as a supporting layer avoids contamination from the polymer material and graphene films become free of polymer residue after the transfer process. Atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy indicate that the polymer-free transferred graphene shows closer properties to intrinsic graphene properties. The reliability of graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) was investigated through the analysis of the negative gate bias-stress-induced instability. This work reveals the effect of polymer residues on the reliability of GFETs, and that the developed new polymer-free transfer method enhances the reliability.