# The effects of Moire lattice on the electronic properties of graphene

## TL;DR

This study investigates how Moire lattice patterns arising from lattice mismatch between graphene and SiC substrate influence graphene's electronic properties, revealing new Dirac cone replicas and their implications for electronic behavior.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that Moire-induced Dirac cone replicas are intrinsic features caused by substrate potential modulation, not artifacts, and are consistent across different graphene layer counts.

## Key findings

- Discovery of new Dirac cone replicas in graphene's Brillouin zone.
- Replicas originate from Moire patterns due to lattice mismatch.
- Effect is consistent in single and tri-layer graphene.

## Abstract

We study structural and electronic properties of graphene grown on SiC substrate using scanning tunneling microscope (STM), spot-profile-analysis low energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED) and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). We find several new replicas of Dirac cones in the Brillouin zone (BZ). Their locations can be understood in terms of combination of basis vectors linked to SiC 6x6 and graphene 6xsqrt(3) x 6sqrt(3) reconstruction. Therefore these new features originate from the Moie caused by the lattice mismatch between SiC and graphene. More specifically, Dirac cones replicas are caused by underlying weak modulation of the ionic potential by the substrate that is then experienced by the electrons in the graphene. We also demonstrate that this effect is equally strong in single and tri-layer graphene, therefore the additional Dirac cones are intrinsic features rather than result of photoelectron diffraction. These new features in the electronic structure are very important for the interpretation of recent transport measurements and can assist in tuning the properties of graphene for practical applications.