Vertical structure of Sb-intercalated quasifreestanding graphene on SiC(0001)

Abstract

Using the normal incidence x-ray standing wave technique as well as low energy electron microscopy we have investigated the structure of quasi-freestanding monolayer graphene (QFMLG) obtained by intercalation of antimony under the $\left(6\sqrt{3}\times 6\sqrt{3}\right)R30^{\circ }$ reconstructed graphitized 6H-SiC(0001) surface, also known as zeroth-layer graphene. We found that Sb intercalation decouples the QFMLG well from the substrate. The distance from the QFMLG to the Sb layer almost equals the expected van der Waals bonding distance of C and Sb. The Sb intercalation layer itself is mono-atomic, flat, and located much closer to the substrate, at almost the distance of a covalent Sb-Si bond length. All data is consistent with Sb located on top of the uppermost Si atoms of the SiC bulk.

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Reversible Switching of the Environment-Protected Quantum Spin Hall Insulator Bismuthene at the Graphene/SiC Interface
• Mesoscopic scale study of lateral dynamics of Sn-intercalation of the buffer layer on SiC
• Solving the Phase Problem of Diffraction: X-ray Standing Waves Imaging on Bismuthene/SiC(0001)