Effect of PMMA Removal Methods on Opto-Mechanical Behaviors of Optical Fiber Resonant Sensor With Graphene Diaphragm

Abstract

Regarding the dependence of the treatment of removing polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) from graphene upon the prestress in the film, two typical PMMA removal methods including acetone-vaporing and high-temperature annealing were investigated based on the opto-mechanical behaviors of the developed optical fiber Fabry-Perot (F-P) resonant sensor with a 125-µm diameter and ∼10-layer-thickness graphene diaphragm. The measured resonant responses showed that the F-P sensor via annealing process exhibited the resonant frequency of 481 kHz and quality factor of 1 034 at ∼2 Pa and room temperature, which are respectively 2.5 times and 33 times larger than the acetone-treated sensor. Moreover, the former achieved a high sensitivity of 110.4 kHz/kPa in the tested range of 2 Pa–2.5 kPa, apparently superior to the sensitivity of 16.2 kHz/kPa obtained in the latter. However, the time drift of resonant frequency also mostly tended to occur in the annealed sensor, thereby shedding light on the opto-mechanical characteristics of graphene-based F-P resonant sensors, along with an optimized optical excitation and detection scheme.

Keywords

Graphene diaphragm / PMMA removal / opto-mechanical behavior / F-P resonator

References

[1] Lee C, Wei X, Kysar J W, Hone J. Measurement of the elastic properties and intrinsic strength of monolayer graphene. Science, 2008, 321(5887): 385-388.

[2] Sakamoto J, van Heijst J, Lukin O, Schlüter A D. Two-dimensional polymers: just a dream of synthetic chemists. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2009, 48(6): 1030-1069.

[3] Bonaccorso F, Sun Z, Hasan T A, Ferrari A C. Graphene photonics and optoelectronics. Nature Photonics, 2010, 4(9): 611-622.

[4] Balandin A A, Ghosh S, Bao W, Calizo I, Teweldebrhan D, Miao F, . Superior thermal conductivity of single-layer graphene. Nano Letters, 2008, 8(3): 902-907.

[5] Das A, Pisana S, Chakraborty B, Piscanec S, Saha S K, Waghmare U V, . Monitoring dopants by Raman scattering in an electrochemically top-gated graphene transistor. Nature Nanotechnology, 2008, 3(4): 210-215.

[6] Cen C, Zhang Y, Chen X, Yang H, Yi Z, Yao W, . A dual-band metamaterial absorber for graphene surface plasmon resonance at terahertz frequency. Physica E: Low-dimensional Systems and Nanostructures, 2020, 117, 113840.

[7] Jiang L, Yuan C, Li Z, Su J, Yi Z, Yao W, . Multi-band and high-sensitivity perfect absorber based on monolayer graphene metamaterial. Diamond and Related Materials, 2021, 111(1): 108227.

[8] Chen Z, Chen H, Jile H, Xu D, Yi Z, Lei Y, . Multi-band multi-tunable perfect plasmon absorber based on L-shaped and double-elliptical graphene stacks. Diamond and Related Materials, 2021, 115, 108374.

[9] He Z, Li L, Ma H, Pu L, Xu H, Yi Z, . Graphene-based metasurface sensing applications in terahertz band. Results in Physics, 2021, 21, 103795.

[10] Bunch J S, van der Zande A M, Verbridge S S, Frank I W, Tanenbaum D M, Parpia J M, . Electromechanical resonators from graphene sheets. Science, 2007, 315(5811): 490-493.

[11] Jiang J W, Wang J S, Li B. Young’s modulus of graphene: a molecular dynamics study. Physical Review B, 2009, 80(11): 113405.

[12] Cui T, Mukherjee S, Sudeep P M, Colas G, Najafi F, Tam J, . Fatigue of graphene. Nature Materials, 2020, 19(4): 405-411.

[13] Bunch J S, Verbridge S S, Alden J S, van der Zande A M, Parpia J M, Craighead H G, . Impermeable atomic membranes from graphene sheets. Nano Letters, 2008, 8(8): 2458-2462.

[14] Singh V, Sengupta S, Solanki H S, Dhall R, Allain A, Dhara S, . Probing thermal expansion of graphene and modal dispersion at low-temperature using graphene nanoelectromechanical systems resonators. Nanotechnology, 2010, 21(16): 165204.

[15] van der Zande A M, Barton R A, Alden J S, Ruiz-Vargas C S, Whitney W S, Pham P H Q, . Large-scale arrays of single-layer graphene resonators. Nano Letters, 2010, 10(12): 4869-4873.

[16] Miller D, Alemán B. Shape tailoring to enhance and tune the properties of graphene nanomechanical resonators. 2D Materials, 2017, 4(2): 025101.

[17] Song X, Oksanen M, Sillanpää M A, Craighead H G, Parpia J M, Hakonen P J. Stamp transferred suspended graphene mechanical resonators for radio frequency electrical readout. Nano Letters, 2012, 12(1): 198-202.

[18] Guan F, Kumaravadivel P, Averin D V, Du X. Tuning strain in flexible graphene nano-electromechanical resonators. Applied Physics Letters, 2015, 107(19): 193102.

[19] Garcia-Sanchez D, van der Zande A M, Paulo A S, Lassagne B, McEuen P L, Bachtold A. Imaging mechanical vibrations in suspended graphene sheets. Nano Letters, 2008, 8(5): 1399-1403.

[20] Chen C, Rosenblatt S, Bolotin K I, Kalb W, Kim P, Kymissis I, . Performance of monolayer graphene nanomechanical resonators with electrical readout. Nature Nanotechnology, 2009, 4(12): 861-867.

[21] Barton R A, Ilic B, van der Zande A M, Whitney W S, McEuen P L, Parpia J M, . High, size-dependent quality factor in an array of graphene mechanical resonators. Nano Letters, 2011, 11(3): 1232-1236.

[22] Ma J, Jin W, Xuan H, Wang C, Ho H L. Fiber-optic ferrule-top nanomechanical resonator with multilayer graphene film. Optics Letters, 2014, 39(16): 4769-4772.

[23] Larsen T, Schmid S, Villanueva L G, Boisen A. Photothermal analysis of individual nanoparticulate samples using micromechanical resonators. ACS Nano, 2013, 7(7): 6188-6193.

[24] Ramos D, Malvar O, Davis Z J, Tamayo J, Calleja M. Nanomechanical plasmon spectroscopy of single gold nanoparticles. Nano Letters, 2018, 18(11): 7165-7170.

[25] Her M, Beams R, Novotny L. Graphene transfer with reduced residue. Physics Letters A, 2013, 377(21–22): 1455-1458.

[26] Liang X, Sperling B A, Calizo I, Cheng G, Hacker C A, Zhang Q, . Toward clean and crackless transfer of graphene. ACS Nano, 2011, 5(11): 9144-9153.

[27] Kang J, Shin D, Bae S, Hong B H. Graphene transfer: key for applications. Nanoscale, 2012, 4(18): 5527-5537.

[28] Kim K S, Zhao Y, Jang H, Lee S Y, Kim J M, Kim K S, . Large-scale pattern growth of graphene films for stretchable transparent electrodes. Nature, 2009, 457(7230): 706-710.

[29] Kang S J, Kim B, Kim K S, Zhao Y, Chen Z, Lee G H, . Inking elastomeric stamps with micro-patterned, single layer graphene to create high-performance OFETs. Advanced Materials, 2011, 23(31): 3531-3535.

[30] Cha S, Cha M, Lee S, Kang J H, Kim C. Low-temperature, dry transfer-printing of a patterned graphene monolayer. Scientific Reports, 2015, 5(1): 17877.

[31] Ali U, Karim K J B A, Buang N A. A review of the properties and applications of Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) (PMMA). Polymer Reviews, 2015, 55(4): 678-705.

[32] Reina A, Jia X, Ho J, Nezich D, Son H, Bulovic V, . Large area, few-layer graphene films on arbitrary substrates by chemical vapor deposition. Nano Letters, 2009, 9(1): 30-35.

[33] Schmid S, Bagci T, Zeuthen E, Taylor J M, Herring P K, Cassidy M C, . Single-layer graphene on silicon nitride micromembrane resonators. Journal of Applied Physics, 2014, 115(5): 054513.

[34] Barin G B, Song Y, Gimenez I F, Filho A G S, Barreto L S, Kong J. Optimized graphene transfer: influence of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) layer concentration and baking time on graphene final performance. Carbon, 2015, 84, 82-90.

[35] Mathiesen D, Vogtmann D, Dupaix R B. Characterization and constitutive modeling of stress-relaxation behavior of Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) across the glass transition temperature. Mechanics of Materials, 2014, 71, 74-84.

[36] Zeng W R, Li S F, Chow W K. Review on chemical reactions of burning Poly (methyl methacrylate) PMMA. Journal of Fire Sciences, 2002, 20(5): 401-433.

[37] Süske E, Scharf T, Schaaf P, Panchenko E, Nelke D, Buback M, . Variation of the mechanical properties of pulsed laser deposited PMMA films during annealing. Applied Physics A, 2004, 79(4): 1295-1297.

[38] Nanzai Y, Miwa A, Cui S Z. Aging in fully annealed and subsequently strained Poly (methyl methacrylate). Polymer Journal, 2000, 32(1): 51-56.

[39] Ferriol M, Gentilhomme A, Cochez M, Oget N, Mieloszynski J L. Thermal degradation of Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA): modelling of DTG and TG curves. Polymer Degradation and Stability, 2003, 79(2): 271-281.

[40] Li X, Cai W, An J, Kim S, Nah J, Yang D, . Large-area synthesis of high-quality and uniform graphene films on copper foils. Science, 2009, 324(5932): 1312-1314.

[41] Bao W, Miao F, Chen Z, Zhang H, Jang W, Dames C, . Controlled ripple texturing of suspended graphene and ultrathin graphite membranes. Nature Nanotechnology, 2009, 4(9): 562-566.

[42] Ryu S, Liu L, Berciaud S, Yu Y J, Liu H, Kim P, . Atmospheric oxygen binding and hole doping in deformed graphene on a SiO₂ substrate. Nano Letters, 2010, 10(12): 4944-4951.

[43] Cheng Z, Zhou Q, Wang C, Li Q, Wang C, Fang Y. Toward intrinsic graphene surfaces: a systematic study on thermal annealing and wet-chemical treatment of SiO₂-supported graphene devices. Nano Letters, 2011, 11(2): 767-771.

[44] Southwortha D R, Craighead H G, Parpia J M. Pressure dependent resonant frequency of micromechanical drumhead resonators. Applied Physics Letters, 2009, 94(21): 213506.

[45] Dolleman R J, Davidovikj D, Cartamil-Bueno S J, van der Zant H S J, Steeneken P G. Graphene squeeze-film pressure sensor. Nano Letters, 2016, 16(1): 568-571.

[46] Andrews M K, Turner G C, Harris P D, Harris I M. A resonant pressure sensor based on a squeezed film of gas. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 1993, 36(3): 219-226.

[47] Bao M, Yang H. Squeeze film air damping in MEMS. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 2007, 136(1): 3-27.

[48] Rao S S. Vibration of continuous systems, 2007, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons

[49] Feng G. Theory and devices of resonant sensing, 2008, Beijing: Tsinghua University Press

[50] Oshidari Y, Hatakeyama T, Kometani R, Warisawa S, Ishihara S. High-quality factor graphene resonator fabrication using resist shrinkage-induced strain. Applied Physics Express, 2012, 5(11): 117201.

[51] Olfatnia M, Xu T, Ong L S, Miao J M, Wang Z H. Investigation of residual stress and its effects on the vibrational characteristics of piezoelectric-based multilayered micro-diaphragms. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 2009, 20(1): 015007.

[52] Castellanos-Gomez A, van Leeuwen R, Buscema M, van der Zant H S J, Steele G A, Venstra W J. Single-layer MoS₂ mechanical resonators. Advanced Materials, 2013, 25(46): 6719-6723.

[53] Li C, Lan T, Yu X, Bo N, Dong J, Fan S. Room-temperature pressure-induced optically-actuated Fabry-Perot nanomechanical resonator with multilayer graphene diaphragm in air. Nanomaterials, 2017, 7(11): 366.

[54] Kwak M K. Vibration of circular plates in contact with water. Journal of Applied Mechanics, 1991, 58(2): 480-483.