Few layers graphene on 6H-SiC(000-1): an STM study

François Varchon , Pierre Mallet (1) , Laurence Magaud (2) , Jean-Yves Veuillen (1)

1 NEEL - QuNES - Nano-Electronique Quantique et Spectroscopie
2 NEEL - Quan2m - Interactions modulables dans des états quantiques 2D

We have analyzed by Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM) thin films made of few (3-5) graphene layers grown on the C terminated face of 6H-SiC in order to identify the nature of the azimuthal disorder reported in this material. We observe superstructures which are interpreted as Moiré patterns due to a misorientation angle between consecutive layers. The presence of stacking faults is expected to lead to electronic properties reminiscent of single layer graphene even for multilayer samples. Our results indicate that this apparent electronic decoupling of the layers can show up in STM data.

Mots clés: STM; graphene

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

François Varchon, Pierre Mallet, Laurence Magaud, Jean-Yves Veuillen. Few layers graphene on 6H-SiC(000-1): an STM study. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (1998-2015), 2008, 77, pp.165415. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.77.165415⟩. ⟨hal-00202699⟩