Step-flow growth of graphene-boron nitride lateral heterostructures by molecular beam epitaxy
Publication Date
April 20, 2020
Creators
Description
Integration of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) into lateral heterostructures has drawn focus due to the ability to broadly engineer the material properties. Hybrid monolayers with tuneable bandgaps have been reported, while the interface itself possesses unique electronic and magnetic qualities. Herein, we demonstrate lateral heteroepitaxial growth of graphene and hBN by sequential growth using high-temperature molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). We find, using scanning probe microscopy, that graphene growth nucleates at hBN step edges and grows across the surface to form nanoribbons with a controlled width that is highly uniform across the surface. The graphene nanoribbons grow conformally from the armchair edges of hexagonal hBN islands forming multiply connected regions with the growth front alternating from armchair to zigzag in regions nucleated close to the vertices of hexagonal hBN islands. Images with lattice resolution confirm a lateral epitaxial alignment between the hBN and graphene nanoribbons, while the presence of a moiré pattern within the ribbons indicates that some strain relief occurs at the lateral heterojunction. These results demonstrate that high temperature MBE is a viable route towards integrating graphene and hBN in lateral heterostructures.
Associate publ. DOI
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Subjects
Subjects (JACS)
Subjects (LC)
Divisions
University of Nottingham, UK Campus::Faculty of Science::School of Physics and Astronomy
Data type
Images acquired using scanning probe microscopy
Grant Number
EP/P019080/1
Data collection method
Molecular Imaging/Agilent Scanning tunnelling microscope, Asylum Instruments Cypher Atomic Force Microscope
Resource languages
English
Publisher
The University of Nottingham
Date Issued
April 20, 2020
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