Graphene growth by molecular beam epitaxy using a solid carbon source

Abstract The direct elaboration of graphene by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been studied, using a solid carbon source. Successful growth has been achieved on both the carbon and silicon terminated faces of silicon carbide substrates in the temperature range 1000–1100 °C, as confirmed by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and X‐ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) observations show that the initial substrate structure, i.e. flat atomic terraces and half‐period high steps, remains almost unaffected during the growth, contrary to what is observed following the graphitization process.