Epitaxial graphene on 3C-SiC(111) pseudosubstrate: Structural and electronic properties

Abstract

Structural and electronic properties of epitaxial graphene on 3C-SiC(111) pseudosubstrate epilayers on silicon was investigated in detail by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and synchrotron angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The graphitization process has been observed by distinct features in the atomically resolved STM images and abrupt interface with the number of stacked-graphene layer has been revealed in STEM image. Two different types of carbon atom networks, honeycomb and one sublattice, were atomically resolved by STM. Electronic properties and band structures of the epitaxial graphene are examined with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, showing linear band dispersion K point of the Brillouin zone, with Dirac point about 500 meV below the Fermi level (E-F). These findings are of relevance for various potential applications based on graphene-SiC/Si(111) structures.