157 research outputs found
In situ observation of stress relaxation in epitaxial graphene
Upon cooling, branched line defects develop in epitaxial graphene grown at
high temperature on Pt(111) and Ir(111). Using atomically resolved scanning
tunneling microscopy we demonstrate that these defects are wrinkles in the
graphene layer, i.e. stripes of partially delaminated graphene. With low energy
electron microscopy (LEEM) we investigate the wrinkling phenomenon in situ.
Upon temperature cycling we observe hysteresis in the appearance and
disappearance of the wrinkles. Simultaneously with wrinkle formation a change
in bright field imaging intensity of adjacent areas and a shift in the moire
spot positions for micro diffraction of such areas takes place. The stress
relieved by wrinkle formation results from the mismatch in thermal expansion
coefficients of graphene and the substrate. A simple one-dimensional model
taking into account the energies related to strain, delamination and bending of
graphene is in qualitative agreement with our observations.Comment: Supplementary information: S1: Photo electron emission microscopy and
LEEM measurements of rotational domains, STM data of a delaminated bulge
around a dislocation. S2: Movie with increasing brightness upon wrinkle
formation as in figure 4. v2: Major revision including new experimental dat
Statistiques de débarquements de la pêche maritime piroguière à Soumbédioune de 1976 à 1980
Selecting a single orientation for millimeter sized graphene sheets
We have used Low Energy Electron Microscopy (LEEM) and Photo Emission
Electron Microscopy (PEEM) to study and improve the quality of graphene films
grown on Ir(111) using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). CVD at elevated
temperature already yields graphene sheets that are uniform and of monatomic
thickness. Besides domains that are aligned with respect to the substrate,
other rotational variants grow. Cyclic growth exploiting the faster growth and
etch rates of the rotational variants, yields films that are 99 % composed of
aligned domains. Precovering the substrate with a high density of graphene
nuclei prior to CVD yields pure films of aligned domains extending over
millimeters. Such films can be used to prepare cluster-graphene hybrid
materials for catalysis or nanomagnetism and can potentially be combined with
lift-off techniques to yield high-quality, graphene based electronic devices
Periodically modulated geometric and electronic structure of graphene on Ru(0001)
We report here on a method to fabricate and characterize highly perfect,
periodically rippled graphene monolayers and islands, epitaxially grown on
single crystal metallic substrates under controlled UHV conditions. The
periodicity of the ripples is dictated by the difference in lattice parameters
of graphene and substrate, and, thus, it is adjustable. We characterize its
perfection at the atomic scale by means of STM and determine its electronic
structure in the real space by local tunnelling spectroscopy. There are
periodic variations in the geometric and electronic structure of the graphene
monolayer. We observe inhomogeneities in the charge distribution, i.e a larger
occupied Density Of States at the higher parts of the ripples. Periodically
rippled graphene might represent the physical realization of an ordered array
of coupled graphene quantum dots. The data show, however, that for rippled
graphene on Ru(0001) both the low and the high parts of the ripples are
metallic. The fabrication of periodically rippled graphene layers with
controllable characteristic length and different bonding interactions with the
substrate will allow a systematic experimental test of this fundamental
problem.Comment: 12 pages. Contribution to the topical issue on graphene of
Semiconductor Science and Technolog
Interface-engineered hole doping in Sr2IrO4/LaNiO3 heterostructure
The relativistic Mott insulator Sr2IrO4 driven by large spin-orbit
interaction is known for the Jeff = 1/2 antiferromagnetic state which closely
resembles the electronic structure of parent compounds of superconducting
cuprates. Here, we report the realization of hole-doped Sr2IrO4 by means of
interfacial charge transfer in Sr2IrO4/LaNiO3 heterostructures. X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy on Ir 4f edge along with the X-ray absorption
spectroscopy at Ni L2 edge confirmed that 5d electrons from Ir sites are
transferred onto Ni sites, leading to markedly electronic reconstruction at the
interface. Although the Sr2IrO4/LaNiO3 heterostructure remains non-metallic, we
reveal that the transport behavior is no longer described by the Mott variable
range hopping mode, but by the Efros-Shklovskii model. These findings highlight
a powerful utility of interfaces to realize emerging electronic states of the
Ruddlesden-Popper phases of Ir-based oxides.Comment: 9 pages including 3 figures and reference
Graphene formed on SiC under various environments: Comparison of Si-face and C-face
The morphology of graphene on SiC {0001} surfaces formed in various
environments including ultra-high vacuum, 1 atm of argon, and 10^-6 to 10^-4
Torr of disilane is studied by atomic force microscopy, low-energy electron
microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The graphene is formed by heating the
surface to 1100 - 1600 C, which causes preferential sublimation of the Si
atoms. The argon atmosphere or the background of disilane decreases the
sublimation rate so that a higher graphitization temperature is required, thus
improving the morphology of the films. For the (0001) surface, large areas of
monolayer-thick graphene are formed in this way, with the size of these areas
depending on the miscut of the sample. Results on the (000-1) surface are more
complex. This surface graphitizes at a lower temperature than for the (0001)
surface and consequently the growth is more three-dimensional. In an atmosphere
of argon the morphology becomes even worse, with the surface displaying
markedly inhomogeneous nucleation, an effect attributed to unintentional
oxidation of the surface during graphitization. Use of a disilane environment
for the (000-1) surface is found to produce improved morphology, with
relatively large areas of monolayer-thick graphene.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, Proceedings of STEG-2 Conference; eliminated
Figs. 4 and 7 from version 1, for brevity, and added Refs. 18, 29, 30, 31
together with associated discussio
Calibration of quasi-static aberrations in exoplanet direct-imaging instruments with a Zernike phase-mask sensor. II. Concept validation with ZELDA on VLT/SPHERE
Warm or massive gas giant planets, brown dwarfs, and debris disks around
nearby stars are now routinely observed by dedicated high-contrast imaging
instruments on large, ground-based observatories. These facilities include
extreme adaptive optics (ExAO) and state-of-the-art coronagraphy to achieve
unprecedented sensitivities for exoplanet detection and spectral
characterization. However, differential aberrations between the ExAO sensing
path and the science path represent a critical limitation for the detection of
giant planets with a contrast lower than a few at very small
separations (<0.3\as) from their host star. In our previous work, we proposed a
wavefront sensor based on Zernike phase contrast methods to circumvent this
issue and measure these quasi-static aberrations at a nanometric level. We
present the design, manufacturing and testing of ZELDA, a prototype that was
installed on VLT/SPHERE during its reintegration in Chile. Using the internal
light source of the instrument, we performed measurements in the presence of
Zernike or Fourier modes introduced with the deformable mirror. Our
experimental and simulation results are consistent, confirming the ability of
our sensor to measure small aberrations (<50 nm rms) with nanometric accuracy.
We then corrected the long-lived non-common path aberrations in SPHERE based on
ZELDA measurements. We estimated a contrast gain of 10 in the coronagraphic
image at 0.2\as, reaching the raw contrast limit set by the coronagraph in the
instrument. The simplicity of the design and its phase reconstruction algorithm
makes ZELDA an excellent candidate for the on-line measurements of quasi-static
aberrations during the observations. The implementation of a ZELDA-based
sensing path on the current and future facilities (ELTs, future space missions)
could ease the observation of the cold gaseous or massive rocky planets around
nearby stars.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, A&A accepted on June 3rd, 2016. v2 after
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