Development of a method to study the effects of doping and defects on the Raman spectrum of graphene

Since the first synthesis of graphene, Raman spectroscopy has become a standard for its characterization. Both doping and defects in graphene have been studied extensively using Raman spectrometers in confocal configuration. However, the origin of all bands in the Raman spectrum of graphene is not yet fully understood. The bands related to the presence of defects involve second order processes that become more complex with the doping of graphene. Also, the confocal configuration does not offer any spatial information on the sample. It is possible to generate a Raman map by taking point by point measurements, but this is a long and laborious process. The RIMA, a device designed in Professor Martel's laboratory in collaboration with Photon Etc, overcomes this problem. With a little more than a million Raman spectra measured in a few hours over a large area, the RIMA allows to generate Raman maps of exceptional quality. The RIMA is then the tool of choice for the study presented in this master's thesis. The objective of this master's thesis is to develop a method to study the effect of doping and defects on the Raman spectrum of graphene. To obtain suitable samples for the study, some parameters of graphene growth by chemical vapor deposition were studied. Graphene was doped with the redox couple Pt/PtO and buffer solutions. Raman maps were produced with the RIMA. These maps were taken at three doping levels before and after argon ion bombardment. Growth experiments yielded samples with few bilayers, allowing measurements to be taken without regard to their effects. Platinum deposition was optimized to obtain uniformly dispersed particles on the sample. Doping with the redox couple was not as effective as expected. The analysis of the Raman maps revealed that the bombardment does not give a uniform result on the sample. The hypothesis proposed to explain the doping discrepancy and the non-uniformity of the defects is the presence of polymer residues on the graphene surface before the platinum deposition. These residues would affect the charge transfer during the doping of the graphene and would protect the sample from argon ions during the bombardment.