Tuning the Terrace and Step Stability of 6H-SiC (0001) for Graphene Film Deposition

Abstract

Graphene is a 2D material with potential for almost any purpose, thanks to a combination of excellent characteristics, e.g. high electrical conductivity. Graphene grown on SiC wafers is one of the promising routes for graphene integration into planar technology electronic applications. Synthesis is based on the decomposition of a SiC single crystal surface at high temperature, where Si-terminated SiC substrates require the formation of the C buffer layer. In spite of numerous experimental and theoretical works the understanding and control upon crucial factors such as step and terrace stability or surface roughening is far from been fully comprehended and then technologically optimized. We present experimental results on the deposition of graphene onto Si-terminated 6H-SiC. We analyze the effect of ex situ and in situ conditionings of the SiC surface in the thermal decomposition and reconstruction of the SiC terraces, toward higher control upon the growth process of graphene films.