Nanoscale electrical and structural properties of epitaxial graphene interface with sic(0001)

Abstract

This chapter reports recent experimental investigations on the electrical and structural properties of the epitaxial graphene interface with the silicon carbide (SiC). Nanoscale resolution electrical characterization techniques based on scanning probe microscopy and atomic resolution structural analyses based on aberrationcorrected scanning transmission electron microscopy have been jointly applied to elucidate the correlation between the interface structure and local transport properties of epitaxial graphene. The chapter investigates the morphological, structural, and electrical properties of epitaxial graphene on the stepped/faceted surface of vicinal SiC wafers. The wafer miscut angle plays an important role in the graphene growth process, since the kinks of SiC terraces are nucleation sites for epitaxial graphene. The nanoscale electrical analyses have been correlated with the results of the macroscopic electrical characterization of epitaxial graphene device structures, providing the explanation of typically observed effects, such as the anisotropic current transport with respect to SiC steps orientation.