Why graphene growth is very different on the C face than on the Si face of SiC: Insights from surface equilibria and the (3 × 3) - 3C - SiC(-1-1-1) reconstruction

We address the stability of the surface phases that occur on the C side of 3C−SiC(1¯1¯1¯) at the onset of graphene formation. In this growth range, experimental reports reveal a coexistence of several surface phases. This coexistence can be explained by a Si-rich model for the unknown (3×3) reconstruction, the known (2×2)C adatom phase, and the graphene-covered (2×2)C phase. By constructing an ab initio surface phase diagram using a van der Waals corrected density functional, we show that the formation of a well defined interface structure like the “buffer layer” on the Si side is blocked by Si-rich surface reconstructions.

Keywords

density functional theory, graphene, silicon carbide, surface science

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevB.91.161408

Citation

Nemec , L , Lazarevic , F , Rinke , P , Scheffler , M & Blum , V 2015 , ' Why graphene growth is very different on the C face than on the Si face of SiC: Insights from surface equilibria and the (3 × 3) - 3C - SiC(-1-1-1) reconstruction ' , Physical Review B , vol. 91 , no. 16 , 161408 , pp. 1-5 . https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.161408

Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201609234373

Collections

[article-cris] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI

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