Experimental observation of Dirac cones in artificial graphene lattices

Here, the authors synthesize macroscopic artificial graphene via self-assembly of C${}₆₀$ molecules on metal surfaces. The macroscopic scale of these systems enables direct investigation of their electronic structure by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The long-expected Dirac cones of artificial graphene at the $K$ points of the Brillouin zone are directly observed. These results will stimulate ongoing efforts to fabricate molecular quantum devices based on artificial graphene.