Patent ID: 8580658

Claim:
A method for forming a graphite-based structure on a substrate comprising: (A) patterning the substrate to form a plurality of elements on the substrate, each respective element in the plurality of elements separated from an adjacent element on the substrate by a corresponding trench in a plurality of trenches in the substrate, wherein (i) a first element in the plurality of elements has a first surface, (ii) a first trench in the plurality of trenches separates the first element from an adjacent element in the plurality of elements, the first trench having a second surface, (iii) the first surface and the second surface are separated by a first side wall of the first element, (iv) the first surface is characterized by a first elevation, (v) the second surface is characterized by a second elevation, (vi) the first elevation is other than the second elevation, and (vii) a first orthogonal projection of the first surface and a second orthogonal projection of the second surface on a common plane are contiguous or overlapping, and (B) concurrently generating a first graphene layer on the entire first surface and a second graphene layer on the entire second surface, wherein the second graphene layer has a thickness that is less than a difference in the first elevation and the second elevation, thereby creating the graphite-based structure in which the second graphene layer is isolated from the first graphene layer, wherein the first graphene layer comprises one or more graphene sheets and wherein the second graphene layer comprises one or more graphene sheets.