Florian Speck

Observation of Plasmarons in Quasi-Freestanding Doped Graphene

More Crossings for Graphene Graphene, which consists of single sheets of graphite, has a number of distinctive electronic properties, including a conical structure that leads to a “Dirac point” where the valence and conduction band intersect at a zero-energy point. Bostwick et al. (p. 999) used angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to study graphene that was doped with alkali atoms and suspended from its substrate. They observed features associated with plasmarons, which arise from the interaction of the charge carriers with plasmons, the density oscillations of the electron gas. The Dirac crossing now becomes three crossings: one that involves charge bands, one involving plasmarons, and one involving the interaction between the two. Doping of graphene introduces two new crossing points of the conduction and valance-electron bands. A hallmark of graphene is its unusual conical band structure that leads to a zero-energy band gap at a single Dirac crossing point. By measuring the spectral function of charge carriers in quasi-freestanding graphene with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we showed that at finite doping, this well-known linear Dirac spectrum does not provide a full description of the charge-carrying excitations. We observed composite “plasmaron” particles, which are bound states of charge carriers with plasmons, the density oscillations of the graphene electron gas. The Dirac crossing point is resolved into three crossings: the first between pure charge bands, the second between pure plasmaron bands, and the third a ring-shaped crossing between charge and plasmaron bands.

The quasi-free-standing nature of graphene on H-saturated SiC(0001)

We report on an investigation of quasi-free-standing graphene on 6H-SiC(0001) which was prepared by intercalation of hydrogen under the buffer layer. Using infrared absorption spectroscopy, we prove that the SiC(0001) surface is saturated with hydrogen. Raman spectra demonstrate the conversion of the buffer layer into graphene which exhibits a slight tensile strain and short range defects. The layers are hole doped (p = 5.0 − 6.5 × 1012 cm−2) with a carrier mobility of 3100 cm2/Vs at room temperature. Compared to graphene on the buffer layer, a strongly reduced temperature dependence of the mobility is observed for graphene on H-terminated SiC(0001) which justifies the term “quasi-free-standing.”

Quantum oscillations and quantum Hall effect in epitaxial graphene

Johannes Jobst, Daniel Waldmann, Florian Speck, Roland Hirner, Duncan K. Maude, Thomas Seyller, and Heiko B. Weber ∗ Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Physik, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91056 Erlangen, Germany Lehrstuhl für Technische Physik, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91056 Erlangen, Germany Laboratoire des Champs Magnétiques Intenses, 25 Avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Grenoble,France (Dated: August 14, 2009)

Highly p-doped epitaxial graphene obtained by fluorine intercalation

We present a method for decoupling epitaxial graphene grown on SiC(0001) by intercalation of a layer of fluorine at the interface. The fluorine atoms do not enter into a covalent bond with graphene but rather saturate the substrate Si bonds. This configuration of the fluorine atoms induces a remarkably large hole density of p≈4.5×1013 cm−2, equivalent to the location of the Fermi level at 0.79 eV above the Dirac point ED.

Schottky barrier between 6H-SiC and graphite: Implications for metal/SiC contact formation

Using photoelectron spectroscopy we have determined the Schottky barrier between 6H-SiC(0001) and graphite layers grown by solid state graphitization. For n-type 6H-SiC(0001) we find a low Schottky barrier of ϕbn=0.3±0.1eV. For p-type SiC(0001) a rather large value of ϕbp=2.7±0.1eV was determined. It is proposed that these extreme values are likely to have an impact on the electrical behavior of metal/SiC contacts subjected to postdeposition anneals.

High-transconductance graphene solution-gated field effect transistors

In this work, we report on the electronic properties of solution-gated field effect transistors (SGFETs) fabricated using large-area graphene. Devices prepared both with epitaxially grown graphene on SiC as well as with chemical vapor deposition grown graphene on Cu exhibit high transconductances, which are a consequence of the high mobility of charge carriers in graphene and the large capacitance at the graphene/water interface. The performance of graphene SGFETs, in terms of gate sensitivity, is compared to other SGFET technologies and found to be clearly superior, confirming the potential of graphene SGFETs for sensing applications in electrolytic environments.

Bottom-gated epitaxial graphene

High-quality epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide (SiC) is today available in wafer size. Similar to exfoliated graphene, its charge carriers are governed by the Dirac-Weyl Hamiltonian and it shows excellent mobilities. For many experiments with graphene, in particular for surface science, a bottom gate is desirable. Commonly, exfoliated graphene flakes are placed on an oxidized silicon wafer that readily provides a bottom gate. However, this cannot be applied to epitaxial graphene as the SiC provides the source material out of which graphene grows. Here, we present a reliable scheme for the fabrication of bottom-gated epitaxial graphene devices, which is based on nitrogen (N) implantation into a SiC wafer and subsequent graphene growth. We demonstrate working devices in a broad temperature range from 6 to 300  K. Two gating regimes can be addressed, which opens a wide engineering space for tailored devices by controlling the doping of the gate structure.

Strong Plasmon Reflection at Nanometer-Size Gaps in Monolayer Graphene on SiC

We employ tip-enhanced infrared near-field microscopy to study the plasmonic properties of epitaxial quasi-free-standing monolayer graphene on silicon carbide. The near-field images reveal propagating graphene plasmons, as well as a strong plasmon reflection at gaps in the graphene layer, which appear at the steps between the SiC terraces. When the step height is around 1.5 nm, which is two orders of magnitude smaller than the plasmon wavelength, the reflection signal reaches 20% of its value at graphene edges, and it approaches 50% for step heights as small as 5 nm. This intriguing observation is corroborated by numerical simulations and explained by the accumulation of a line charge at the graphene termination. The associated electromagnetic fields at the graphene termination decay within a few nanometers, thus preventing efficient plasmon transmission across nanoscale gaps. Our work suggests that plasmon propagation in graphene-based circuits can be tailored using extremely compact nanostructures, such as ultranarrow gaps. It also demonstrates that tip-enhanced near-field microscopy is a powerful contactless tool to examine nanoscale defects in graphene.

Initial Stages of the Graphite-SiC(0001) Interface Formation Studied by Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Graphitization of the 6H-SiC(0001) surface as a function of annealing temperature has been studied by ARPES, high resolution XPS, and LEED. For the initial stage of graphitization – the 6√3 reconstructed surface – we observe σ-bands characteristic of graphitic sp2-bonded carbon. The π-bands are modified by the interaction with the substrate. C1s core level spectra indicate that this layer consists of two inequivalent types of carbon atoms. The next layer of graphite (graphene) formed on top of the 6√3 surface at TA=1250°C-1300°C has an unperturbed electronic structure. Annealing at higher temperatures results in the formation of a multilayer graphite film. It is shown that the atomic arrangement of the interface between graphite and the SiC(0001) surface is practically identical to that of the 6√3 reconstructed layer.

Characteristics of solution gated field effect transistors on the basis of epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide

A solution gated field effect transistor has been fabricated on epitaxial single-layer graphene on 6H-SiC(0?0?0?1). Output and transfer characteristics were systematically studied as a function of electrolyte pH. The transfer characteristics of the device show a pH dependent shift of 19 ? 1?mV/pH. From the minimum sheet conductivity observed, an average charge carrier mobility of 1800 ? 100?cm2?V?1?s?1 at room temperature has been inferred. It turns out that the Fermi level in the graphene layer is strongly pinned in the vicinity of the Dirac point. The analysis of the transfer characteristics is consistent with a concentration of 4 ? 1014?cm?2 interface states at 0.1?eV below the Dirac energy that is presumably associated with the -reconstruction at the interface between SiC(0?0?0?1) and graphene.