Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser direct micro-cutting and profiling of graphene

Abstract This paper reports the formation of uniform single layer micro-patterns of graphene on a glass sub-strate using direct femtosecond laser cutting. The cutting of graphene was achieved in air and argon. By translating the graphene sample with respect to the laser beam, con-tinuous micro-channels were carved. The cutting geometry can be controlled by varying the laser fluence and the scan-ning path. Also, 1∼2 μm wide graphene micro-ribbons were hatched out. The ablation threshold of graphene was deter-mined to be 0.16∼0.21 J/cm2. With the laser fluence higher than the ablation threshold, graphene was ablated rapidly and removed completely without damaging the glass sub-strate. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spec-troscopy have been used to confirm the ablation of graphene. Time domain finite difference modelling was employed to understand the thermal history of the laser ablation process.