A wide potential application range of graphene from super capacitors and transparent conductors to antennas, has made it a prominent competitor over traditional metallic elements and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Ink-based printing processes are of the most favorable fabrication processes for printed electronics. Ink-based printed graphene interconnects usually contain several extra polymer-based components of the ink including solvents and surfactants. Therefore, a post heating process is usually needed to not only eliminate all unwanted components in printed patterns, but also improve the printed graphene performance as an interconnect.
In this study, a 1550 nm CW fiber laser irradiation is used to heat treat graphene-based printed patterns fabricated by an aerosol-based micro-scale additive manufacturing technique. The manuscript will address the preliminary optimization of the laser power and speed, in order to degrade undesired elements and obtain pure graphene patterns after post processing. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are employed to investigate the topography and microstructure of graphene patterns.