Intrinsic superstructure near atomically clean armchair-type step edge of graphite

Abstract

We investigated the electronic superstructure of graphite surface in the vicinity to monoatomic armchair step edges with scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. Only the ($\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}$)$\text{R}$30${}^{\circ }$ superstructure is visualized near atomically clean armchair edges, while the honeycomb superstructure is absent. The spectroscopic mapping near the clean armchair edge clearly reveals the ($\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}$)$\text{R}$30${}^{\circ }$ superstructure on both sides of the step edge. We have also visualized a mixture of ($\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}$)$\text{R}$30${}^{\circ }$ and honeycomb superstructures near structurally defective armchair edges. Our results suggest that the honeycomb superstructure pattern results from superposition of two sets of ($\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}$)$\text{R}$30${}^{\circ }$ superstructure with different phases. Our observation solves the mystery of the coexistence of two types of superstructures reported by prior studies.

arXiv comment7 pages, 7 figures

References in corpus (22)

• Electric Field Effect in Atomically Thin Carbon Films
• The electronic properties of graphene
• Two-Dimensional Gas of Massless Dirac Fermions in Graphene
• Experimental Observation of Quantum Hall Effect and Berry's Phase in Graphene
• Magic-angle graphene superlattices: a new platform for unconventional superconductivity
• Quantum Spin Hall Effect in Graphene
• Half-Metallic Graphene Nanoribbons
• Tuning superconductivity in twisted bilayer graphene
• Emergent ferromagnetism near three-quarters filling in twisted bilayer graphene
• Electronic States of Graphene Nanoribbons
• Andreev reflection and Klein tunneling in graphene
• Dirac materials
• Origin of Magic Angles in Twisted Bilayer Graphene
• Magnetic Correlations at Graphene Edges
• Spatially Resolving Spin-split Edge States of Chiral Graphene Nanoribbons
• Observation of zigzag and armchair edges of graphite using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy
• Intra-unit-cell electronic nematicity of the high-Tc copper-oxide pseudogap states
• Magnetic nanographite
• Boundary conditions for Dirac fermions on a terminated honeycomb lattice
• Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of the electronic local density of states of graphite surfaces near monoatomic step edges
• Edge state on hydrogen-terminated graphite edges investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy
• Direct imaging of monovacancy-hydrogen complexes in single graphitic layer