Epitaxial Graphene on SiC(0001)

The growth of epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide (SiC) is considered to be a viable route to the development of graphene-based electronic devices. Consequently, much work has been done in the last few years on characterization of this material and on improving its growth and properties. This chapter is devoted to the growth and properties of epitaxial graphene on the hexagonal SiC(0001) surface. The properties of SiC are briefly summarized before the growth of graphene in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) is described. Next, the electronic and structural properties of the so-called buffer layer are investigated before discussing the band structures of monolayer and bilayer graphene close to the K-point of the hexagonal Brillouin zone. Recent results indicate that growth of graphene in UHV is insufficient for obtaining electronic grade graphene layers. Instead, growth of graphene in Ar atmosphere has been suggested to lead to graphene synthesis on wafer scale and work on this topic is summarized. Then a brief description of transport properties of graphene on SiC(0001) is given. Finally, it will be shown how interface engineering of epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001) may be used to change the properties of the graphene layers.