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In situ atomic-scale observation of monolayer graphene growth from SiC

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Abstract

Because of its high compatibility with conventional microfabrication processing technology, epitaxial graphene (EG) grown on SiC shows exceptional promise for graphene-based electronics. However, to date, a detailed understanding of the transformation from three-layer SiC to monolayer graphene is still lacking. Here, we demonstrate the direct atomic-scale observation of EG growth on a SiC (11̅00) surface at 1,000 °C by in situ transmission electron microscopy in combination with ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations. Our detailed analysis of the growth dynamics of monolayer graphene reveals that three SiC (11̅00) layers decompose successively to form one graphene layer. Sublimation of the first layer causes the formation of carbon clusters containing short chains and hexagonal rings, which can be considered as the nuclei for graphene growth. Decomposition of the second layer results in the appearance of new chains connecting to the as-formed clusters and the formation of a network with large pores. Finally, the carbon atoms released from the third layer lead to the disappearance of the chains and large pores in the network, resulting in a whole graphene layer. Our study presents a clear picture of the epitaxial growth of the monolayer graphene from SiC and provides valuable information forfuture developments in SiC-derived EG technology.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51420105003, 11525415, 11327901, 61274114, 11674052, and 11604047) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nos. 2242016K41039, MTEC-2015M03, and NJ20150026) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20160694). W. Z. and F. D. acknowledge the support of Institute for Basic Science, Republic of Korea (No. IBS-R019-D1). X. W. would like to acknowledge support from the Projects of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (No. 14DZ2260800).

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  1. Kaihao Yu, Wen Zhao, and Xing Wu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. SEU-FEI Nano-Pico Center, Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China

    Kaihao Yu, Xing Wu, Xiaohui Hu, Qiubo Zhang, Jun Sun, Tao Xu & Litao Sun

  2. Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, 689-798, Republic of Korea

    Wen Zhao & Feng Ding

  3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, 689-798, Republic of Korea

    Feng Ding

  4. Institute of Textiles and Clothing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, 999077, China

    Wen Zhao, Jianing Zhuang & Feng Ding

  5. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Multidimensional Information Processing, Department of Electrical Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China

    Xing Wu

  6. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 210009, China

    Xiaohui Hu

  7. Center for Advanced Carbon Materials, Southeast University and Jiangnan Graphene Research Institute, Changzhou, 213100, China

    Litao Sun

  8. Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacture, Joint Research Institute of Southeast University and Monash University, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Litao Sun

  9. Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Yang Chai

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  1. Kaihao Yu
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  2. Wen Zhao
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  3. Xing Wu
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  4. Jianing Zhuang
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  8. Tao Xu
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  10. Feng Ding
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  11. Litao Sun
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Correspondence to Feng Ding or Litao Sun.

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Yu, K., Zhao, W., Wu, X. et al. In situ atomic-scale observation of monolayer graphene growth from SiC. Nano Res. 11, 2809–2820 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1911-x

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