Abstract
While numerous methods have been proposed to produce semiconducting graphene, a significant band gap has never been demonstrated. The reason is that, regardless of the theoretical gap formation mechanism, subnanometer disorder prevents the required symmetry breaking necessary to make graphene semiconducting. In this work, we show for the first time that semiconducting graphene can be made by epitaxial growth. Using improved growth methods, we show by direct band measurements that a band gap greater than 0.5 eV can be produced in the first graphene layer grown on the SiC(0001) surface. This work demonstrates that order, a property that remains lacking in other graphene systems, is key to producing electronically viable semiconducting graphene.
- Received 3 May 2015
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.136802
© 2015 American Physical Society
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Graphene Gets a Good Gap
Published 21 September 2015
Researchers have engineered a large energy band gap in a graphene layer grown on a silicon carbide substrate.
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