A Table-Top Formation of Bilayer Quasi-Free-Standing Epitaxial-Graphene on SiC(0001) by Microwave Annealing in Air

TL;DR

This paper introduces a simple, rapid microwave annealing technique in air to produce bilayer quasi-free-standing epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001), significantly reducing processing time compared to traditional methods.

Contribution

The study presents a novel, efficient microwave annealing process in air for decoupling buffer layers in epitaxial graphene, enabling quick production of bilayer QFSEG.

Findings

Successful decoupling of buffer layer confirmed by multiple spectroscopy techniques.

Microwave annealing reduces process time by over an order of magnitude.

Mechanism involves oxidation of SiC surface similar to conventional methods.

Abstract

We propose a table-top method to obtain bilayer quasi-free-standing epitaxial-graphene (QFSEG) on SiC(0001). By applying a microwave annealing in air to a monolayer epitaxial graphene (EG) grown on SiC(0001), the buffer layer is decoupled from the SiC substrate and becomes the second EG layer as confirmed by the low energy electron diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Raman scattering spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. The most likely mechanism of the decoupling is given by the oxidation of the SiC surface, which is quite similar to what happens in conventional annealing method in air but with a process time by more than one order of magnitude less.