Morphology Characterization of Argon-Mediated Epitaxial Graphene on C-face SiC

TL;DR

This study investigates how argon-mediated growth influences the morphology of epitaxial graphene on C-face SiC, revealing that argon slows growth and promotes island formation, with nucleation and coalescence as key mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of argon on graphene growth dynamics and morphology on C-face SiC surfaces.

Findings

Argon slows graphene formation rate.

Argon promotes islanding during growth.

Nucleation and coalescence are primary growth mechanisms.

Abstract

Epitaxial graphene layers were grown on the C-face of 4H- and 6H-SiC using an argon-mediated growth process. Variations in growth temperature and pressure were found to dramatically affect the morphological properties of the layers. The presence of argon during growth slowed the rate of graphene formation on the C-face and led to the observation of islanding. The similarity in the morphology of the islands and continuous films indicated that island nucleation and coalescence is the growth mechanism for C-face graphene.