In situ SR-XPS observation of Ni-assisted low-temperature formation of epitaxial graphene on 3C-SiC/Si

Hasegawa, Mika*; Sugawara, Kenta*; Suto, Ryota*; Sambonsuge, Shota*; Teraoka, Yuden; Yoshigoe, Akitaka ; Filimonov, S.*; Fukidome, Hirokazu*; Suemitsu, Maki*

Graphene has attracted much attention as a promising material in electronics and photonics. The graphitization temperature of 1473 K or higher of graphene-on-silicon(GOS), however, is still too high to be fully compatible with the Si technology. Here, the first application of Ni-assisted formation of graphene to the GOS method was reported. We demonstrate that the graphene formation temperature can be reduced by more than 200 K by this method. Moreover, solid-phase reactions during heating/annealing/cooling procedures have been investigated in detail by using synchrotron-radiation X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. As a result, we clarify the role of Ni/SiC reactions, in which not only Ni silicidation and but also Ni carbonization is suggested as a key process in the formation of graphene.