20 research outputs found
Mesoscopic transport phenomena in epitaxial graphene nanostructures : a surface science approach
[no abstract
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
Plasmon damping below the Landau regime: the role of defects in epitaxial graphene
The sheet plasmon in epitaxially grown graphene layers on SiC(0001) and the influence of surface roughness have been investigated in detail by means of low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). We show that the existence of steps or grain boundaries in this epitaxial system is a source of strong damping, while the dispersion is rather insensitive to defects. To the first order, the lifetime of the plasmons was found to be proportional to the average terrace length and to the plasmon wavelength. A possible reason for this surprisingly efficient plasmon damping may be the close coincidence of phase (and group) velocities of the plasmons ( almost linear dispersion) with the Fermi velocity of the electrons. Therefore, uncorrelated defects like steps only have to act as a momentum source to effectively couple plasmons to the electron-hole continuum
Plasmons in Pb nanowire arrays on Si(557): Between one and two dimensions
The plasmon dispersion in arrays of nanowires of Pb close to an average Pb coverage of one monolayer was determined on the Si(557) surface using electron energy loss spectroscopy with both high energy and momentum resolution. While we find purely one-dimensional (1D) plasmon losses at a Pb concentration of 1.31 monolayers (ML), measured with respect to the Si(111) surface concentration, the 1.2 and 1.4 ML coverages exhibit wavelength-dependent transitions from 1D to anisotropic 2D properties. However, due to the high anisotropy in the system at all coverages, the dispersion curves exhibit 1D characteristics in both directions. This behavior seems to be related to the Pb-induced refacetting of the Si(557) surface, which depends on Pb coverage. It changes both effective system sizes and coupling strength between miniterraces. © 2011 American Physical Society.Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japa
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
Electron Interference in Ballistic Graphene Nanoconstrictions
We realize nanometer size constrictions in ballistic graphene nanoribbons grown on sidewalls of SiC mesa structures. The high quality of our devices allows the observation of a number of electronic quantum interference phenomena. The transmissions of Fabry-Perot-like resonances are probed by in situ transport measurements at various temperatures. The energies of the resonances are determined by the size of the constrictions, which can be controlled precisely using STM lithography. The temperature and size dependence of the measured conductances are in quantitative agreement with tight-binding calculations. The fact that these interference effects are visible even at room temperature makes the reported devices attractive as building blocks for future carbon based electronics. © 2016 American Physical Society.DF
Graphene Grown on Ge(001) from Atomic Source
Among the many anticipated applications of graphene, some - such as
transistors for Si microelectronics - would greatly benefit from the
possibility to deposit graphene directly on a semiconductor grown on a Si
wafer. We report that Ge(001) layers on Si(001) wafers can be uniformly covered
with graphene at temperatures between 800{\deg}C and the melting temperature of
Ge. The graphene is closed, with sheet resistivity strongly decreasing with
growth temperature, weakly decreasing with the amount of deposited C, and
reaching down to 2 kOhm/sq. Activation energy of surface roughness is low
(about 0.66 eV) and constant throughout the range of temperatures in which
graphene is formed. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the
major physical processes affecting the growth are: (1) substitution of Ge in
surface dimers by C, (2) interaction between C clusters and Ge monomers, and
(3) formation of chemical bonds between graphene edge and Ge(001), and that the
processes 1 and 2 are surpassed by CH surface diffusion when the C atoms
are delivered from CH. The results of this study indicate that graphene
can be produced directly at the active region of the transistor in a process
compatible with the Si technology
Comeback of epitaxial graphene for electronics: large-area growth of bilayer-free graphene on SiC
We present a new fabrication method for epitaxial graphene on SiC which
enables the growth of ultra-smooth defect- and bilayer-free graphene sheets
with an unprecedented reproducibility, a necessary prerequisite for wafer-scale
fabrication of high quality graphene-based electronic devices. The inherent but
unfavorable formation of high SiC surface terrace steps during high temperature
sublimation growth is suppressed by rapid formation of the graphene buffer
layer which stabilizes the SiC surface. The enhanced nucleation is enforced by
decomposition of polymer adsorbates which act as a carbon source. With most of
the steps well below 0.75 nm pure monolayer graphene without bilayer inclusions
is formed with lateral dimensions only limited by the size of the substrate.
This makes the polymer assisted sublimation growth technique the most promising
method for commercial wafer scale epitaxial graphene fabrication. The
extraordinary electronic quality is evidenced by quantum resistance metrology
at 4.2 K with until now unreached precision and high electron mobilities on mm
scale devices.Comment: 20 pages, 6 Figure
Graphene ribbon growth on structured silicon carbide
Structured Silicon Carbide was proposed to be an ideal template for the production of arrays of edge specific graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), which could be used as a base material for graphene transistors. We prepared periodic arrays of nanoscaled stripe-mesas on SiC surfaces using electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching. Subsequent epitaxial graphene growth by annealing is differentiated between the basal-plane mesas and the faceting stripe walls as monitored by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Microscopic low energy electron diffraction (μ-LEED) revealed that the graphene ribbons on the facetted mesa side walls grow in epitaxial relation to the basal-plane graphene with an armchair orientation at the facet edges. The ¼- band system of the ribbons exhibits linear bands with a Dirac like shape corresponding to monolayer graphene as identified by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES)