We demonstrate hydrogen assisted growth of high quality epitaxial graphene on the C-face of 4H-SiC. Compared with the conventional thermal decomposition technique, the size of the growth domain by this method is substantially increased and the thickn
ess variation is reduced. Based on the morphology of epitaxial graphene, the role of hydrogen is revealed. It is found that hydrogen acts as a carbon etchant. It suppresses the defect formation and nucleation of graphene. It also improves the kinetics of carbon atoms via hydrocarbon species. These effects lead to increase of the domain size and the structure quality. The consequent capping effect results in smooth surface morphology and suppression of multilayer growth. Our method provides a viable route to fine tune the growth kinetics of epitaxial graphene on SiC.
Enhancement of the spin-orbit coupling in graphene may lead to various topological phenomena and also find applications in spintronics. Adatom absorption has been proposed as an effective way to achieve the goal. In particular, great hope has been he
ld for indium in strengthening the spin-orbit coupling and realizing the quantum spin Hall effect. To search for evidence of the spin-orbit coupling in graphene absorbed with indium adatoms, we carry out extensive transport measurements, i.e., weak localization magnetoresistance, quantum Hall effect and non-local spin Hall effect. No signature of the spin-orbit coupling is found. Possible explanations are discussed.
