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Title: Preserving the 7 × 7 surface reconstruction of clean Si(111) by graphene adsorption

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4928930· OSTI ID:22489108
; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, and Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States)
  2. Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 (United States)

We employ room-temperature ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy and ab-initio calculations to study graphene flakes that were adsorbed onto the Si(111)–7 × 7 surface. The characteristic 7 × 7 reconstruction of this semiconductor substrate can be resolved through graphene at all scanning biases, thus indicating that the atomistic configuration of the semiconducting substrate is not altered upon graphene adsorption. Large-scale ab-initio calculations confirm these experimental observations and point to a lack of chemical bonding among interfacial graphene and silicon atoms. Our work provides insight into atomic-scale chemistry between graphene and highly reactive surfaces, directing future passivation and chemical interaction work in graphene-based heterostructures.

OSTI ID:
22489108
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 7; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English