Graphene ribbon growth on structured silicon carbide

Structured Silicon Carbide was proposed to be an ideal template for the production of arrays of edge specific graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), which could be used as a base material for graphene transistors. We prepared periodic arrays of nanoscaled stripe-mesas on SiC surfaces using electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching. Subsequent epitaxial graphene growth by annealing is differentiated between the basal-plane mesas and the faceting stripe walls as monitored by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Microscopic low energy electron diffraction (μ-LEED) revealed that the graphene ribbons on the facetted mesa side walls grow in epitaxial relation to the basal-plane graphene with an armchair orientation at the facet edges. The π-band system of the ribbons exhibits linear bands with a Dirac like shape corresponding to monolayer graphene as identified by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES).