New synthesis method for the growth of epitaxial graphene

• Published in: Journal of electron spectroscopy and related phenomena Vol. 184; no. 3; pp. 100 - 106
• Main Authors: Yu, X.Z., Hwang, C.G., Jozwiak, C.M., Köhl, A., Schmid, A.K., Lanzara, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-04-2011
• Subjects: Annealing; Electronics; Epitaxial graphene; Epitaxy; Graphene; Growth method; Micrometers; Morphology; Silicon carbide; Surface morphology; Synthesis; Epitaxial graphene; Surface morphology; Growth method
• ISSN: 0368-2048; 1873-2526
• DOI: 10.1016/j.elspec.2010.12.034

► We report a new straightforward method for the synthesis of micrometer scale graphene sheets. ► The process is based on a face to face mehtod in which two SiC substrates are placed one on top of the other and are heated simultaneously, leading to highly homogeneous samples. ► The number of graphene layers is determined by the annealing temperature.
As a viable candidate for an all-carbon post-CMOS electronics revolution, epitaxial graphene has attracted significant attention. To realize its application potential, reliable methods for fabricating large-area single-crystalline graphene domains are required. A new way to synthesize high quality epitaxial graphene, namely “
face-to-
face” method, has been reported in this paper. The structure and morphologies of the samples are characterized by low-energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The grown samples show better quality and larger length scales than samples grown through conventional thermal desorption. Moreover, the graphene thickness can be easily controlled by changing annealing temperature.