Effect of substrate temperature on few-layer graphene grown on Al2O3 (0 0 0 1) via direct carbon atoms deposition

Few-layer graphene (FLG) was grown on Al2O3 (0 0 0 1) substrates at different temperatures via direct carbon atoms deposition by using solid source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE) method. The structural properties were characterized by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), Raman spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS). The results showed that the FLG started to form at the substrate temperature of 700 °C. When the substrate temperature increased to 1300 °C, the quality of the FLG was the best and the layer number was estimated to be less than 5. At higher substrate temperature (1400 °C or above), the crystalline quality of the FLG would be deteriorated. Our experiment results demonstrated that the substrate temperature played an important role on the FLG layer formation on Al2O3 (0 0 0 1) substrates and the related growth mechanism was briefly discussed.

► We have prepared the few-layer graphene (FLG) on Al2O3 (0 0 0 1) substrates at different temperatures.
► Direct carbon atoms deposition by using solid source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE) method.
► The experiment results demonstrated that the substrate temperature played an important role on the FLG layer formation.
► The SSMBE method is an effective technique for the FLG preparation by direct carbon atoms evaporation.