Enhanced interfacial adhesion of patterned Cu-graphene nanolayered composite

Abstract

In this study, graphene was physically patterned to allow for Cu-Cu contacts to serve as anchoring points, thereby preventing complete delamination at the interface, and the effect of the inclusion of Cu-Cu contacts on bending fatigue response was evaluated. Direct patterning and roll-based dry transfer process of CVD-grown graphene was used to fabricate patterned Cu-Gr nanolayered composites. Bending fatigue tests were performed to determine the optimal configuration of patterning that can lead to enhanced reliability. The graphene was shown to hinder crack formation and propagation, where the cracks were absorbed at the graphene interface through localized delamination while the patterned area with Cu-Cu contact served as anchoring points to prevent macroscopic delamination. Therefore, the optimized graphene patterning design proposed in this study was shown to provide a good balance in crack absorption at the interface and prevention of global delamination that can significantly enhance the reliability under bending fatigue.