Transmission electron microscope observation of interface structures of graphene on 6H-SiC

Three-dimensional detection and quantification of defects in SiC by optical coherence tomography

Silicon carbide (SiC) is widely used in high power electronic devices. However, defects on the SiC significantly reduce the yield and decrease the performance of SiC. Accurate detection of the defects is essential in the process control. We demonstrated a noninvasive three-dimensional (3D) defect detection method for SiC using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Defects including the triangular defects, hexagonal voids, grain boundaries, and carrot defects were inspected and analyzed on SiC wafers. The 3D images of defects acquired with OCT provided detailed information on the 3D structures and dimensions of defects, and the locations and orientations of the defects inside the wafers. This technique was not only useful for rapid defect screening in the process control, it was also extremely helpful in understanding the formation mechanism of these defects in SiC.

Interface and interaction of graphene layers on SiC(0001[combining macron]) covered with TiC(111) intercalation

It is important to understand the interface and interaction between the graphene layer, titanium carbide [TiC(111)] interlayer, and silicon carbide [SiC(0001[combining macron])] substrates in epitaxial growth of graphene on silicon carbide (SiC) substrates. In this study, the fully relaxed interfaces which consist of up to three layers of TiC(111) coatings on the SiC(0001[combining macron]) as well as the graphene layers interactions with these TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) were systematically studied using the density functional theory-D2 (DFT-D2) method. The results showed that the two layers of TiC(111) coating with the C/C-terminated interfaces were thermodynamically more favorable than one or three layers of TiC(111) on the SiC(0001[combining macron]). Furthermore, the bonding of the Ti-hollow-site stacked interfaces would be a stronger link than that of the Ti-Fcc-site stacked interfaces. However, the formation of the C/Ti/C and Ti/C interfaces implied that the first upper carbon layer can be formed on TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) using the decomposition of the weaker Ti-C and C-Si interfacial bonds. When growing graphene layers on these TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) substrates, the results showed that the interaction energy depended not only on the thickness of the TiC(111) interlayer, but also on the number of graphene layers. Bilayer graphene on the two layer thick TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) was thermodynamically more favorable than a monolayer or trilayer graphene on these TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) substrates. The adsorption energies of the bottom graphene layers with the TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) substrates increased with the decrease of the interface vertical distance. The interaction energies between the bottom, second and third layers of graphene on the TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) were significantly higher than that of the freestanding graphene layers. All of these findings provided insight into the growth of epitaxial graphene on TiC(111)/SiC(0001[combining macron]) substrates and the design of graphene/TiC/SiC-based electronic devices.

Graphene layers on Si-face and C-face surfaces and interaction with Si and C atoms in layer controlled graphene growth on SiC substrates

It is important to understand the interface and interaction between graphene layers and SiC surfaces as well as the interaction of key intermediate Si and C atoms with these surfaces and interfaces in epitaxial graphene growth on SiC substrates.

Epitaxial graphene on SiC{0001}: advances and perspectives

We review here recent progress on epitaxial graphene grown on a SiC substrate. Epitaxial graphene can be easily grown by heating the SiC single crystal in a high vacuum or in an inert gas atmosphere. The SiC surfaces used for graphene growth contain Si- and C-terminated faces. On the Si-face, homogeneous and clean graphene can be grown with a controlled number of layers, and the carrier mobility reaches as high as several m(2) V s(-1), although this is reduced by the presence of the substrate steps. On the C-face, although the number of layers is not homogeneous, twisted bilayer graphene can be grown, which is expected to be the technique of choice to modify the electronic structure of graphene. From the application point of view, graphene on SiC will be the platform used to fabricate high-speed electronic devices and dense graphene nanoribbon arrays, which will be used to introduce a bandgap.

Epitaxial growth of boron-doped graphene by thermal decomposition of B4C

We grew graphene by thermal decomposition of B(4)C and investigated its features by high-resolution transmission electron microscope observations. At temperatures higher than 1600 °C in a vacuum, B(4)C decomposes and graphene forms epitaxially on its surface. The number and the morphology of the graphene layers depend on the surface orientation. An electron diffraction technique revealed the presence of a superstructure with a two-times larger unit cell, which is consistent with the structure of BC(3). We have directly confirmed boron in the graphene layers by electron energy loss spectroscopy measurements and boron-mapping experiments.