Graphene on cubic-SiC

The outstanding properties of graphene make it a top candidate for replacing silicon in future electronic devices. However, for technological applications, graphene must be synthesized on the surface of wide-gap semiconductors. In this review, we focus on graphene synthesized on single-crystalline cubic-SiC thin films epitaxially grown on standard silicon wafers. These low-cost substrates are commercially available and fully compatible with existing silicon technologies. The results obtained in recent years demonstrate that few-layer graphene synthesized on cubic-SiC substrates possesses the atomic structure and electronic properties of quasi-free-standing graphene. However, according to data obtained by various techniques, few-layer graphene on cubic-SiC consists of nanodomains connected to one another through nanodomain boundaries. After optimization of the preparation procedures, such a nanostructured graphene overlayer can represent a very promising system for the development of new graphene-based electronic devices. In particular, recent works demonstrate that continuous few-layer graphene with self-aligned nanodomain boundaries can be synthesized on vicinal SiC(0 0 1) substrates. Electrical measurements show the opening of a transport gap in nanostructured trilayer graphene synthesized on SiC/2°-off Si(0 0 1) wafers. This development may lead to new tunable electronic nanostructures made from graphene on cubic-SiC, opening up opportunities for a wide range of applications.