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Self-organized metal-semiconductor epitaxial graphene layer on off-axis 4H-SiC(0001)

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Abstract

The remarkable properties of graphene have shown promise for new perspectives in future electronics, notably for nanometer scale devices. Here we grow graphene epitaxially on an off-axis 4H-SiC(0001) substrate and demonstrate the formation of periodic arrangement of monolayer graphene on planar (0001) terraces and Bernal bilayer graphene on \((11\bar 20)\) nanofacets of SiC. We investigate these lateral superlattices using Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy/electrostatic force microscopy (AFM/EFM) and X-ray and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (XPS/ARPES). The correlation of EFM and ARPES reveals the appearance of permanent electronic band gaps in AB-stacked bilayer graphene on \((11\bar 20)\) SiC nanofacets of 150 meV. This feature is confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The charge transfer between the substrate and graphene bilayer results in an asymmetric charge distribution between the top and the bottom graphene layers opening an energy gap. This surface organization can be thus defined as self-organized metal-semiconductor graphene.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS-Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures, Route de Nozay, 91460, Marcoussis, France

    Debora Pierucci, Haikel Sediri, Mahdi Hajlaoui, Emilio Velez-Fort, Noelle Gogneau & Abdelkarim Ouerghi

  2. Synchrotron-SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin, BP48, F91192, Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France

    Mahdi Hajlaoui, Mathieu G. Silly, Rachid Belkhou & Fausto Sirotti

  3. Université Pierre et Marie Curie (CNRS - IMPMC), 4 Pl. Jussieu, 75005, Paris, France

    Emilio Velez-Fort & Abhay Shukla

  4. Service de Physique de l’Etat Condensé (CNRS URA2464), IRAMIS, CEA Saclay, 91191, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France

    Yannick J. Dappe

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  1. Debora Pierucci
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  2. Haikel Sediri
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Pierucci, D., Sediri, H., Hajlaoui, M. et al. Self-organized metal-semiconductor epitaxial graphene layer on off-axis 4H-SiC(0001). Nano Res. 8, 1026–1037 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0584-y

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