The application of graphene in electronic devices requires large-scale epitaxial growth. The presence of the substrate, however, usually reduces the charge-carrier mobility considerably. We show that it is possible to decouple the partially sp(3)-hybridized first graphitic layer formed on the Si-terminated face of silicon carbide from the substrate by gold intercalation, leading to a completely sp(2)-hybridized graphene layer with improved electronic properties.
Kumar Varoon Agrawal, Kuang-Jung Hsu, Kangning Zhao, Luis Francisco Villalobos Vazquez de la Parra, Shaoxian Li, Heng-Yu Chi, Wan-Chi Lee, Yuyang Zhang