Why graphene growth is very different on the C face than on the Si face of SiC: Insights from surface equilibria and the (3$\times$3)-3C-SiC($\bar{\text{1}}\bar{\text{1}}\bar{\text{1}}$) reconstruction

Abstract

We address the stability of the surface phases that occur on the C-side of 3C-SiC($\bar{1}\bar{1}\bar{1}$) 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$\times$3) reconstruction, the known (2$\times$2)${}_C$ adatom phase, and the graphene covered (2$\times$2)${}_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.

References in corpus (3)

• Ultrathin epitaxial graphite: 2D electron gas properties and a route toward graphene-based nanoelectronics
• Highly-ordered graphene for two dimensional electronics
• The structural properties of the multi-layer graphene/4H-SiC(000-1) system as determined by Surface X-ray Diffraction