Controlling the interface between graphene and SiC by use of graphene-on-silicon technology

Fukidome, Hirokazu*; Takahashi, Ryota*; Imaizumi, Kei*; Handa, Hiroyuki*; Suemitsu, Maki*; Yoshigoe, Akitaka ; Teraoka, Yuden

Graphene layers could be formed firstly on an SiC thin film, which is fabricated on an Si substrate by a gas-source MBE method, by thermal annealing in vacuum (GOS structure). It should be controlled the interface between the SiC film and the graphene layers. In this study, relationships between chrystallographic symmetries of the Si substrate and the interface in the GOS structure were investigated. After an SiC(110), SiC(100), and SiC(111) surface is formed on the Si(110), Si(100), and Si(111) substrate, respectively, graphene layers were formed by thermal annealing of these SiC thin films up to 1523 K in vacuum. Photoemission spectroscopy of C1s core level with synchrotron radiation revealed that no interfacial layers are formed between the graphene and the SiC(110) and SiC(100) films while an interfacial layer is formed on the SiC(111) film.