We present a structural analysis of the graphene-4HSiC(0001) interface using surface x-ray reflectivity. We find that the interface is composed of an extended reconstruction of two SiC bilayers. The interface directly below the first graphene sheet is an extended layer that is more than twice the thickness of a bulk SiC bilayer (~1.7A compared to 0.63A). The distance from this interface layer to the first graphene sheet is much smaller than the graphite interlayer spacing but larger than the same distance measured for graphene grown on the (000-1) surface, as predicted previously by ab intio calculations.
The thermal decomposition of SiC surface provides, perhaps, the most promising method for the epitaxial growth of graphene on a material useful in the electronics platform. Currently, efforts are focused on a reliable method for the growth of large-area, low-strain epitaxial graphene that is still lacking. We report here a novel method for the fast, single-step epitaxial growth of large-area homogeneous graphene film on the surface of SiC(0001) using an infrared CO2 laser (10.6 {mu}m) as the heating source. Apart from enabling extreme heating and cooling rates, which can control the stacking order of epitaxial graphene, this method is cost-effective in that it does not necessitate SiC pre-treatment and/or high vacuum, it operates at low temperature and proceeds in the second time scale, thus providing a green solution to EG fabrication and a means to engineering graphene patterns on SiC by focused laser beams. Uniform, low-strain graphene film is demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron, secondary ion mass, and Raman spectroscopies. Scalability to industrial level of the method described here appears to be realistic, in view of the high rate of CO2-laser induced graphene growth and the lack of strict sample-environment conditions.
We report on an investigation of quasi-free-standing graphene on 6H-SiC(0001) which was prepared by intercalation of hydrogen under the buffer layer. Using infrared absorption spectroscopy we prove that the SiC(0001) surface is saturated with hydrogen. Raman spectra demonstrate the conversion of the buffer layer into graphene which exhibits a slight tensile strain and short range defects. The layers are hole doped (p = 5.0-6.5 x 10^12 cm^(-2)) with a carrier mobility of 3,100 cm^2/Vs at room temperature. Compared to graphene on the buffer layer a strongly reduced temperature dependence of the mobility is observed for graphene on H-terminated SiC(0001)which justifies the term quasi-free-standing.
The early stages of epitaxial graphene layer growth on the Si-terminated 6H-SiC(0001) are investigated by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and depolarized Raman spectroscopy. The selection of the depolarized component of the scattered light results in a significant increase in the C-C bond signal over the second order SiC Raman signal, which allows to resolve submonolayer growth, including individual, localized C=C dimers in a diamond-like carbon matrix for AES C/Si ratio of $sim$3, and a strained graphene layer with delocalized electrons and Dirac single-band dispersion for AES C/Si ratio $>$6. The linear strain, measured at room temperature, is found to be compressive, which can be attributed to the large difference between the coefficients of thermal expansion of graphene and SiC. The magnitude of the compressive strain can be varied by adjusting the growth time at fixed annealing temperature.
The effect of oxygen adsorption on the local structure and electronic properties of monolayer graphene grown on SiC(0001) has been studied by means of Low Energy Electron Microscopy (LEEM), microprobe Low Energy Electron Diffraction (muLEED) and microprobe Angle Resolved Photoemission (muARPES). We show that the buffer layer of epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001) is partially decoupled after oxidation. The monitoring of the oxidation process demonstrates that the oxygen saturates the Si dangling bonds, breaks some Si-C bonds at the interface and intercalates the graphene layer. Accurate control over the oxidation parameters enables us to tune the charge density modulation in the layer.