  We have demonstrated a new method for the large-area graphene growth, which
can lead to a scalable low-cost high-throughput production technology. The
method is based on growing single-layer or few-layer graphene films from a
molten phase. The process involves dissolving carbon inside a molten metal at a
specified temperature and then allowing the dissolved carbon to nucleate and
grow on top of the melt at a lower temperature. The examined metals for the
metal - carbon melts included copper and nickel. For the latter, pristine
single layer graphene was grown successfully. The resulting graphene layers
were subjected to detailed microscopic and Raman spectroscopic
characterization. The deconvolution of the Raman 2D band was used to accurately
determine the number of atomic planes in the resulting graphene layers and
access their quality. The results indicate that our technology can provide bulk
graphite films, few-layer graphene as well as high-quality single layer
graphene on metals. Our approach can also be used for producing graphene-metal
thermal interface materials for thermal management applications.
