Jonas Röhrl

Towards wafer-size graphene layers by atmospheric pressure graphitization of silicon carbide

Graphene, a single monolayer of graphite, has recently attracted considerable interest owing to its novel magneto-transport properties, high carrier mobility and ballistic transport up to room temperature. It has the potential for technological applications as a successor of silicon in the post Moores law era, as a single-molecule gas sensor, in spintronics, in quantum computing or as a terahertz oscillator. For such applications, uniform ordered growth of graphene on an insulating substrate is necessary. The growth of graphene on insulating silicon carbide (SiC) surfaces by high-temperature annealing in vacuum was previously proposed to open a route for large-scale production of graphene-based devices. However, vacuum decomposition of SiC yields graphene layers with small grains (30-200 nm; refs 14-16). Here, we show that the ex situ graphitization of Si-terminated SiC(0001) in an argon atmosphere of about 1 bar produces monolayer graphene films with much larger domain sizes than previously attainable. Raman spectroscopy and Hall measurements confirm the improved quality of the films thus obtained. High electronic mobilities were found, which reach mu=2,000 cm (2) V(-1) s(-1) at T=27 K. The new growth process introduced here establishes a method for the synthesis of graphene films on a technologically viable basis.

Raman spectra of epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001)

We present Raman spectra of epitaxial graphene layers grown on 63×63 reconstructed silicon carbide surfaces during annealing at elevated temperature. In contrast to exfoliated graphene a significant phonon hardening is observed. We ascribe that phonon hardening to a minor part to the known electron transfer from the substrate to the epitaxial layer, and mainly to mechanical strain that builds up when the sample is cooled down after annealing. Due to the larger thermal expansion coefficient of silicon carbide compared to the in-plane expansion coefficient of graphite this strain is compressive at room temperature.

Quasi-freestanding Graphene on SiC(0001)

We report on a comprehensive study of the properties of quasi-freestanding monolayer and bilayer graphene produced by conversion of the (6√3×6√3)R30° reconstruction into graphene via intercalation of hydrogen. The conversion is confirmed by photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. By using infrared absorption spectroscopy we show that the underlying SiC(0001) surface is terminated by hydrogen in the form of Si-H bonds. Using Hall effect measurements we have determined the carrier concentration and type as well as the mobility which lies well above 1000 cm2/Vs despite a significant amount of short range scatterers detected by Raman spectroscopy.

Strain and Charge in Epitaxial Graphene on Silicon Carbide Studied by Raman Spectroscopy

The phonon frequencies of epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide (SiC) depend on mechanical strain and charge transfer from the substrate to the epitaxial layer. Strain and doping depend on the preparation process and on the number of graphene layers. We measured the phonon frequencies by Raman spectroscopy and compare the results between epitaxial layers fabricated by high temperature annealing and by hydrogen intercalation of the covalently bound graphene layer of the 6 p 3 6 p 3 reconstructed SiC surface. Only the latter graphene layer shows tensile strain, which can partly be explained by lattice mismatch between substrate and epitaxial graphene.

Graphene Layers on Silicon Carbide Studied by Raman Spectroscopy

We present a micro-Raman spectroscopy study on single- and few layer graphene (FLG) grown on the silicon terminated surface of 6H-silicon carbide (SiC). On the basis of the 2D-line (light scattering from two phonons close to the K-point in the Brillouin zone) we distinguish graphene mono- from bilayers or few layer graphene. Monolayers have a 2D-line consisting of only one component, whereas more than one component is observed for thicker graphene layers. Compared to the graphite the monolayer graphene lines are shifted to higher frequencies. We tentatively ascribe the corresponding phonon hardening to strain in the first graphene layer.