Investigation of Graphene Film as Ground Plane Material for RF and Microwave Electronics

This study investigates the integration of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films as ground plane in miniaturized RF/mm-wave systems for advanced thermal management applications. Traditional methods such as copper based heat spreaders struggle to handle the increased power and tighter integration requirements of modern day RF/mmWave packaging. Due to rGO’s exceptionally high in-plane thermal conductivity (~ 1,100 W/mK), as compared to copper (~ 400 W/mK), rGO emerges as a compelling candidate for thermal management in RF electronic packaging. This study investigates the employment of rGO to form a ground plane in RF and microwave electronics, evaluating its performance through meticulous transmission line simulations and measurements. Our findings reveal that rGO ground planes exhibit high signal integrity, with an average loss of about 1 dB at 10 GHz and around 2 dB up to 26 GHz, comparable to the performance of traditional copper ground planes. These results indicate that rGO is a promising material for RF and microwave circuits, especially in applications requiring enhanced thermal management and mechanical flexibility.