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We realize nanometer size constrictions in ballistic graphene nanoribbons grown on sidewalls of SiC mesa structures. The high quality of our devices allows the observation of a number of electronic quantum interference phenomena. The transmissions of Fabry-Perot-like resonances are probed by in situ transport measurements at various temperatures. The energies of the resonances are determined by the size of the constrictions, which can be controlled precisely using STM lithography. The temperature and size dependence of the measured conductances are in quantitative agreement with tight-binding calculations. The fact that these interference effects are visible even at room temperature makes the reported devices attractive as building blocks for future carbon based electronics.

The electrical transport properties of epitaxial graphene layers are correlated with the SiC surface morphology. In this study we show by atomic force microscopy and Raman measurements that the surface morphology and the structure of the epitaxial graphene layers change significantly when different pretreatment procedures are applied to nearly on-axis 6H-SiC(0 0 0 1) substrates. It turns out that the often used hydrogen etching of the substrate is responsible for undesirable high macro-steps evolving during graphene growth. A more advantageous type of sub-nanometer stepped graphene layers is obtained with a new method: a high-temperature conditioning of the SiC surface in argon atmosphere. The results can be explained by the observed graphene buffer layer domains after the conditioning process which suppress giant step bunching and graphene step flow growth. The superior electronic quality is demonstrated by a less extrinsic resistance anisotropy obtained in nano-probe transport experiments and by the excellent quantization of the Hall resistance in low-temperature magneto-transport measurements. The quantum Hall resistance agrees with the nominal value (half of the von Klitzing constant) within a standard deviation of 4.5 × 10(-9) which qualifies this method for the fabrication of electrical quantum standards.

The realization of ballistic graphene pn-junctions is an essential task in order to study Klein tunneling phenomena. Here we show that intercalation of Ge under the buffer layer of pre-structured SiC-samples succeeds to make truly nano-scaled pn-junctions. By means of local tunneling spectroscopy the junction width is found to be as narrow as 5 nm which is a hundred times smaller compared to electrically gated structures. The ballistic transmission across the junction is directly proven by systematic transport measurements with a 4-tip STM. Various npn- and pnp-junctions are studied with respect to the barrier length. The pn-junctions are shown to act as polarizer and analyzer with the second junction becoming transparent in case of a fully ballistic barrier. This can be attributed to the almost full suppression of electron transmission through the junction away from normal incidence.

Graphene nanoribbons will be essential components in future graphene nanoelectronics. However, in typical nanoribbons produced from lithographically patterned exfoliated graphene, the charge carriers travel only about ten nanometres between scattering events, resulting in minimum sheet resistances of about one kilohm per square. Here we show that 40-nanometre-wide graphene nanoribbons epitaxially grown on silicon carbide are single-channel room-temperature ballistic conductors on a length scale greater than ten micrometres, which is similar to the performance of metallic carbon nanotubes. This is equivalent to sheet resistances below 1 ohm per square, surpassing theoretical predictions for perfect graphene by at least an order of magnitude. In neutral graphene ribbons, we show that transport is dominated by two modes. One is ballistic and temperature independent; the other is thermally activated. Transport is protected from back-scattering, possibly reflecting ground-state properties of neutral graphene. At room temperature, the resistance of both modes is found to increase abruptly at a particular length--the ballistic mode at 16 micrometres and the other at 160 nanometres. Our epitaxial graphene nanoribbons will be important not only in fundamental science, but also--because they can be readily produced in thousands--in advanced nanoelectronics, which can make use of their room-temperature ballistic transport properties.

Graphene structures of finite size are expected to reveal exceptional electronic and magnetic properties which are highly attractive for future nano-technological applications. In this study we have looked at the edge-states in graphene nanoribbons (GNR) grown by self-assembly on mesa structured SiC(0001) templates. By means of a 4-tip STM/SEM system, both local spectroscopy and lateral transport have been performed in situ on the same nanostructures. The conductance in these structures was found to be e(2)/h for temperatures up to 400 K. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy clearly reveals edge-localized states on these ribbons. The local bonding of these ribbons to their support turns out to be essential in order to preserve the metallicity of the edge-states.