Graphene growth by molecular beam epitaxy using a solid carbon source

Abstract

Abstract The direct elaboration of graphene by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been studied, using a solid carbon source. Successful growth has been achieved on both the carbon and silicon terminated faces of silicon carbide substrates in the temperature range 1000–1100 °C, as confirmed by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and X‐ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) observations show that the initial substrate structure, i.e . flat atomic terraces and half‐period high steps, remains almost unaffected during the growth, contrary to what is observed following the graphitization process.