Patent ID: 9738987
Date: 2017-08-22
CPC Classifications: B32B,C01B,C25D,C25F

Claim:
1. An electrochemical etching apparatus, comprising: a power supply including a negative terminal and a positive terminal configured to output current; a container configured to contain an electrolyte; a cathode coupled to the container and configured to fluidly communicate with the electrolyte, the cathode having a portion electrically connected to the negative terminal; an anode having a portion electrically connected to the positive terminal, the anode including a graphene layer and a metal substrate layer that is etched from the graphene layer in response to the current flowing through the anode, the anode further including a metal plate having a first portion in electrical communication with the positive terminal to receive the current; and an electrically conductive polymer configured to couple the metal plate to the graphene layer, wherein the anode further comprises a metal plate having a plate surface with a first surface area and is in electrical communication with the output of the power supply to receive the current, wherein the graphene layer includes a first graphene surface having a second surface area and is disposed on the upper surface of the metal substrate layer such that the metal plate is configured to fluidly communicate with the electrolyte, and such that the second surface area of the metal plate matches the first surface area of the graphene layer.