Interaction between Yb³⁺ doped glasses substrates and graphene layers by raman spectroscopy

We report the interaction between 5.0 wt.% and 20 wt.% Yb³⁺ doped phosphate glasses substrates with graphene single layer (1L) and bilayer (2L) by Raman spectroscopy. This interaction is studied in terms of shifting of the G, 2D and 2D^’ bands of graphene, which is higher in 1L than in 2L graphene on the 20% Yb³⁺ substrate, in respect to the 5.0 wt.% substrate. Furthermore, changes in the full width at half maximum of the G, 2D and 2D’ bands, together with the I_2D/I_G ratio, for doped and undoped substrates, reveal this interaction. Additionally, when a single layer graphene is found on the surface of both substrates, some Raman peaks on the less doped sample are absent, whereas they are present on the more doped sample, indicating that the presence of Yb³⁺ ions increases the interaction between the substrate and the single layer graphene. The reported results give insights about graphene interaction with doped rare earth substrates.