The Role of Graphene Defects in Graphene-Coated Copper Oxidation Behavior

The advanced semiconductor industry is dependent on the development of ultrathin barrier layers. Graphene has the potential to be a protective layer, but the nature of graphene defects prohibits it from being used in practical applications. This article aims to report the influence of graphene defects on the oxidation behavior of graphene-coated copper. Graphene films were created via chemical vapor deposition on Cu foil. The graphene-coated Cu oxidation behavior was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy (OM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectra. The results show that CVD graphene performs as a passivation layer at 200 degrees C, but the protective capacity degrades as the oxidation time increases. Our findings show that graphene grain boundaries and point defects have the most detrimental effect on oxidation resistance degeneration, but not other defects such as Cu step bunches.