Abstract
Trilayer graphene is of particular interest to the 2D materials community because of its unique tunable electronic structure. However, to date, there is a lack of fundamental understanding of the properties of epitaxial trilayer graphene on silicon carbide. Here, following successful synthesis of large-area uniform trilayer graphene, atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the trilayer graphene on 6H-SiC(0001) was uniform over a large scale. Additionally, distinct defects, identified as flower-shaped domains and isolated wrinkle structures, were observed randomly on the surface using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS). These carbon nanostructures formed during growth, has different structural and electronic properties when compared with the adjacent flat regions of the graphene. Finally, using low temperature STM/STS at 4K, we found that the isolated wrinkles showed an irreversible rotational motion between two 60° configurations at different densities of states.
Highlights
Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to Flower-Shaped Domains and Wrinkles in Trilayer Epitaxial Graphene on Silicon
Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy have allowed us to study the effect of wrinkles on the structural and electronic properties of epitaxial trilayer graphene on SiC
We note that the Discussion In the case of heteroepitaxial growth, the natural strain in the epilayers is a result of the misfit in lattice parameters and thermal expansion coefficient and of the plastic relaxation process
Summary
Distinct defects, identified as flower-shaped domains and isolated wrinkle structures, were observed randomly on the surface using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) These carbon nanostructures formed during growth, has different structural and electronic properties when compared with the adjacent flat regions of the graphene. Beside the morphology modifications of the graphene film, the curvature associated with these corrugations has been predicted to alter graphene’s electronic and structural properties[25,26] They are usually regarded as defects, and as undesirable, it was reported that the wrinkles could be exploited for inducing pseudo-magnetic fields[27], creating chemically reactive sites[28], and for specific applications such as optical lenses[29]. The wrinkle-like structures can be rotated by 60u during STM/STS measurements, confirming that these features are flexible
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