Local transport measurements on epitaxial graphene

Growth of large-scale graphene is still accompanied by imperfections. By means of a four-tip STM/SEM the local structure of graphene grown on SiC(0001) was correlated with scanning electron microscope images and spatially resolved transport measurements. The systematic variation of probe spacings and substrate temperature has clearly revealed two-dimensional transport regimes of Anderson localization as well as of diffusive transport. The detailed analysis of the temperature dependent data demonstrates that the local on-top nano-sized contacts do not induce significant strain to the epitaxial graphene films.Comment: 3 figure

Ballistic bipolar junctions in chemically gated graphene ribbons

The realization of ballistic graphene pn-junctions is an essential task in order to study Klein tunneling phenomena. Here we show that intercalation of Ge under the buffer layer of pre-structured SiC-samples succeeds to make truly nano-scaled pn-junctions. By means of local tunneling spectroscopy the junction width is found to be as narrow as 5 nm which is a hundred times smaller compared to electrically gated structures. The ballistic transmission across the junction is directly proven by systematic transport measurements with a 4-tip STM. Various npn- and pnp-junctions are studied with respect to the barrier length. The pn-junctions are shown to act as polarizer and analyzer with the second junction becoming transparent in case of a fully ballistic barrier. This can be attributed to the almost full suppression of electron transmission through the junction away from normal incidence.DFG/SPP/145

Manipulation of plasmon electron-hole coupling in quasi-free-standing epitaxial graphene layers

We have investigated the plasmon dispersion in quasi-free-standing monolayer graphene (QFMLG) and epitaxial monolayer graphene (MLG) layers by means of angle resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy. We have shown that various intrinsic p-and n-doping levels in QFMLG and MLG, respectively, do not lead to different overall slopes of the sheet plasmon dispersion, contrary to theoretical predictions. Only the coupling of the plasmon to single particle interband transitions becomes obvious in the plasmon dispersion by characteristic points of inflections, which coincide with the location of the Fermi level above or below the Dirac point. Further evidence is given by thermal treatment of the QFML graphene layer with gradual desorption of intercalated hydrogen, which shifts the chemical potential toward the Dirac point. From a detailed analysis of the plasmon dispersion, we deduce that the interaction strength between the plasmon and the electron-hole pair excitation is increased by about 30% in QFMLG compared to MLG, which is attributed to a modified dielectric environment of the graphene film.DFG/Graphene/145

erratum to superlubricity of epitaxial monolayer ws2 on graphene

The article Superlubricity of epitaxial monolayer WS2 on graphene, written by Holger Buch, Antonio Rossi, Stiven Forti, Domenica Convertino, Valentina Tozzini, and Camilla Coletti, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on June 18th 2018 without open access. With the author(s)' decision to opt for Open Choice the copyright of the article changed in August 2018 to © The Author(s) 2018 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made. The original article has been corrected

Revealing the atomic structure of the buffer layer between SiC(0001) and epitaxial graphene

On the SiC(0001) surface (the silicon face of SiC), epitaxial graphene is obtained by sublimation of Si from the substrate. The graphene film is separated from the bulk by a carbon-rich interface layer (hereafter called the buffer layer) which in part covalently binds to the substrate. Its structural and electronic properties are currently under debate. In the present work we report scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies of the buffer layer and of quasi-free-standing monolayer graphene (QFMLG) that is obtained by decoupling the buffer layer from the SiC(0001) substrate by means of hydrogen intercalation. Atomic resolution STM images of the buffer layer reveal that, within the periodic structural corrugation of this interfacial layer, the arrangement of atoms is topologically identical to that of graphene. After hydrogen intercalation, we show that the resulting QFMLG is relieved from the periodic corrugation and presents no detectable defect sites

Stacking Relations and Substrate Interaction of Graphene on Copper Foil

AbstractThe crystallinity of graphene flakes and their orientation with respect to the Cu(111) substrate are investigated by means of low‐energy electron microscopy (LEEM). The interplay between graphene and the metal substrate during chemical vapor deposition (CVD) introduces a restructuring of the metal surface into surface facets, which undergo a step bunching process during the growth of additional layers. Moreover, the surface facets introduce strain between the successively nucleated layers that follow the topography in a carpet‐like fashion. The strain leads to dislocations in between domains of relaxed Bernal stacking. After the transfer onto an epitaxial buffer layer, the imprinted rippled structure of even monolayer graphene as well as the stacking dislocations are preserved. A similar behavior might also be expected for other CVD grown 2D materials such as hexagonal boron nitride or transition metal dichalcogenides, where stacking relations after transfer on a target substrate or heterostructure could become important in future experiments

Growth and applications of two-dimensional single crystals

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have received extensive research attentions over the past two decades due to their intriguing physical properties (such as the ultrahigh mobility and strong light-matter interaction at atomic thickness) and a broad range of potential applications (especially in the fields of electronics and optoelectronics). The growth of single-crystal 2D materials is the prerequisite to realize 2D-based high-performance applications. In this review, we aim to provide an in-depth analysis of the state-of-the-art technology for the growth and applications of 2D materials, with particular emphasis on single crystals. We first summarize the major growth strategies for monolayer 2D single crystals. Following that, we discuss the growth of multilayer single crystals, including the control of thickness, stacking sequence, and heterostructure composition. Then we highlight the exploration of 2D single crystals in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Finally, a perspective is given to outline the research opportunities and the remaining challenges in this field