Continuous wafer-scale graphene on cubic-SiC(001)

The atomic and electronic structure of graphene synthesized on commercially available cubic-SiC(001)/Si(001) wafers have been studied by low energy electron microscopy (LEEM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), and angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES). LEEM and STM data prove the wafer-scale continuity and uniform thickness of the graphene overlayer on SiC(001). LEEM, STM and ARPES studies reveal that the graphene overlayer on SiC(001) consists of only a few monolayers with physical properties of quasi-freestanding graphene. Atomically resolved STM and micro-LEED data show that the top graphene layer consists of nanometersized domains with four different lattice orientations connected through the 〈110〉-directed boundaries. ARPES studies reveal the typical electron spectrum of graphene with the Dirac points close to the Fermi level. Thus, the use of technologically relevant SiC(001)/Si(001) wafers for graphene fabrication represents a realistic way of bridging the gap between the outstanding properties of graphene and their applications. [graphic not available: see fulltext]