Penetration of alkali atoms throughout graphene membrane: theoretical modeling

Theoretical studies of penetration of various alkali atoms (Li, Na, Rb, Cs) throughout graphene membrane grown on silicon carbide substrate are reported and compared with recent experimental results. Results of first principles modeling demonstrate rather low (about 0.8 eV) energy barrier for the formation of temporary defects in carbon layer required for the penetration of Li at high concentration of adatoms, higher (about 2 eV) barrier for Na, and barriers above 4 eV for Rb and Cs. Experiments prove migration of lithium adatoms from graphene surface to the buffer layer and SiC substrate at room temperature, sodium at 100{\deg}C and impenetrability of graphene membrane for Rb and Cs. Differences between epitaxial and free standing graphene for the penetration of alkali ions are also discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure, accepted to Nanoscal

Directed self-organization of graphene nanoribbons on SiC

Realization of post-CMOS graphene electronics requires production of semiconducting graphene, which has been a labor-intensive process. We present tailoring of silicon carbide crystals via conventional photolithography and microelectronics processing to enable templated graphene growth on 4H-SiC{1-10n} (n = 8) crystal facets rather than the customary {0001} planes. This allows self-organized growth of graphene nanoribbons with dimensions defined by those of the facet. Preferential growth is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) measurements, and electrical characterization of prototypic graphene devices is presented. Fabrication of > 10,000 top-gated graphene transistors on a 0.24 cm2 SiC chip demonstrates scalability of this process and represents the highest density of graphene devices reported to date.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Surface Chemistry Involved in Epitaxy of Graphene on 3C-SiC(111)/Si(111)

Surface chemistry involved in the epitaxy of graphene by sublimating Si atoms from the surface of epitaxial 3C-SiC(111) thin films on Si(111) has been studied. The change in the surface composition during graphene epitaxy is monitored by in situ temperature-programmed desorption spectroscopy using deuterium as a probe (D2-TPD) and complementarily by ex situ Raman and C1s core-level spectroscopies. The surface of the 3C-SiC(111)/Si(111) is Si-terminated before the graphitization, and it becomes C-terminated via the formation of C-rich (6√3 × 6√3)R30° reconstruction as the graphitization proceeds, in a similar manner as the epitaxy of graphene on Si-terminated 6H-SiC(0001) proceeds

Probing Mechanical Properties of Graphene with Raman Spectroscopy

The use of Raman scattering techniques to study the mechanical properties of graphene films is reviewed here. The determination of Gruneisen parameters of suspended graphene sheets under uni- and bi-axial strain is discussed and the values are compared to theoretical predictions. The effects of the graphene-substrate interaction on strain and to the temperature evolution of the graphene Raman spectra are discussed. Finally, the relation between mechanical and thermal properties is presented along with the characterization of thermal properties of graphene with Raman spectroscopy.Comment: To appear in the Journal of Materials Scienc

Quantum Resistance Standard Based on Epitaxial Graphene

We report development of a quantum Hall resistance standard accurate to a few parts in a billion at 300 mK and based on large area epitaxial graphene. The remarkable precision constitutes an improvement of four orders of magnitude over the best results obtained in exfoliated graphene and is similar to the accuracy achieved in well-established semiconductor standards. Unlike the traditional resistance standards the novel graphene device is still accurately quantized at 4.2 K, vastly simplifying practical metrology. This breakthrough was made possible by exceptional graphene quality achieved with scalable silicon carbide technology on a wafer scale and shows great promise for future large scale applications in electronics.Comment: Submitte

Transition metals on the (0001) surface of graphite: Fundamental aspects of adsorption, diffusion, and morphology

In this article, we review basic information about the interaction of transition metal atoms with the (0001) surface of graphite, especially fundamental phenomena related to growth. Those phenomena involve adatom-surface bonding, diffusion, morphology of metal clusters, interactions with steps and sputter-induced defects, condensation, and desorption. General traits emerge which have not been summarized previously. Some of these features are rather surprising when compared with metal-on-metal adsorption and growth. Opportunities for future work are pointed out

Changes induced in the surface electronic structure of Be(0001) after Si adsorption

A study of effects induced in the Be is core level spectrum and in the surface band structure after Si adsorption on Be(0001) is reported. The changes in the Be is spectrum are quite dramatic. The number of resolvable surface components and the magnitude of the shifts do decrease and the relative intensities of the shifted components are drastically different compared to the clean surface. The surface band structure is also strongly affected after Si adsorption and annealing. At (&UGamma;) under bar the surface state is found to move down from 2.8 to 4.1 eV. The band also splits at around 0.5 Angstrom(-1) along both the (&UGamma;-K) under bar and (&UGamma;-M) under bar directions. At (M) under bar and beyond (K) under bar only one surface state is observed in the band gap instead of the two for the clean surface. Our findings indicate that a fairly small amount of Si in the outer atomic layers strongly modifies the electronic properties of these layers