Laser heat treatment of aerosol-jet additive manufactured graphene patterns

In this article, a laser processing protocol for heat treatment of micro-scale printed graphene patterns is developed, and the results are compared with the counterpart results obtained by the conventional heat treatment process carried out in a furnace. A continuous-wave Erbium fiber laser is used to enhance electrical properties of the aerosol-jet printed graphene patterns through removing solvents and a stabilizer polymer. The laser power and the process speed are optimized to effectively treat the printed patterns without compromising the quality of the graphene flakes. Furthermore, a heat transfer model is developed and its results are utilized to optimize the laser treatment process. It is found that the laser heat treatment process with a laser speed of 0.03 mm s⁻¹, a laser beam diameter ∼50 μm, and a laser power of 10 W results in pure graphene patterns with no excessive components. The ratio of D to G bands ($I_{\text{D}}/I_{\text{G}})$ in Raman graph of the laser treated pure graphene, which is an indicator of the level of the active defects in graphene structures, is 0.52. The laser treated pure graphene structures also have a C/O ratio and an electrical resistivity of ∼4.5 and 0.022 Ω cm, respectively. These values are fairly comparable with the results of samples treated in a furnace. The results suggest that the laser processing has the capability of removing stabilizer polymers and solvents through a localized moving heat source, which is preferable for flexible electronics with low working temperature substrates. (paper)