Ni induced few-layer graphene growth at low temperature by pulsed laser deposition

We have used pulsed laser deposition to fabricate graphene on catalytic nickel thin film at reduced temperature of 650 °C. Non-destructive micro-Raman spectroscopic study on our samples, measuring 1x1 cm2 each, has revealed few-layer graphene formation. Bi-, tri-, and few-layer graphene growth has been verified by High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy. Our experimental results imply that the number of graphene layers formation relies on film thickness ratios of C to Ni, which can be well controlled by varying the laser ablation time. This simple and low temperature synthesizing method is excellent for graphene based nanotechnology research and device fabrication.