Strain-engineered graphene grown on hexagonal boron nitride by molecular beam epitaxy
Publication date
2016-02-01Creators
Beton, Peter
Summerfield, Alex
Davies, Andrew
Metadata
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Graphene grown by high temperature molecular beam epitaxy on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) forms continuous domains with dimensions of order 20 μm, and exhibits moiré patterns with large periodicities, up to ~30 nm, indicating that the layers are highly strained. Topological defects in the moiré patterns are observed and attributed to the relaxation of graphene islands which nucleate at different sites and subsequently coalesce. In addition, cracks are formed leading to strain relaxation, highly anisotropic strain fields, and abrupt boundaries between regions with different moiré periods. These cracks can also be formed by modification of the layers with a local probe resulting in the contraction and physical displacement of graphene layers. The Raman spectra of regions with a large moiré period reveal split and shifted G and 2D peaks confirming the presence of strain. Our work demonstrates a new approach to the growth of epitaxial graphene and a means of generating and modifying strain in graphene.
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Subjects
- Epitaxy
- Graphene -- Mechanical properties
- Strains and stresses
- JACS Subjects::Physical sciences::Materials science
- JACS Subjects::Physical sciences::Physics::Chemical physics, Solid-state physics
- JACS Subjects::Physical sciences::Chemistry::Physical chemistry
- Library of Congress Subject Areas::Q Science::QC Physics::QC170 Atomic physics. Constitution and properties of matter
- Library of Congress Subject Areas::Q Science::QD Chemistry::QD450 Physical and theoretical chemistry
Divisions
- Faculties, Schools and Departments::University of Nottingham, UK Campus::Faculty of Science::School of Physics and Astronomy
Deposit date
2016-04-14Data type
Scanning Probe Microscopy Images, Raman spectraContributors
- Korolkov, Vladimir V.
- Cheng, Tin
- Cho, Yongjin
- Mellor, Chris
- Foxon, Tom
- Novikov, Sergei
- Eaves, Laurence
- Khlobystov, Andrei
Funders
- Funders::Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council
- Leverhulme Trust
Grant number
- EP/K040243/1
- EP/L013908/1
- RPG-2014-129
Data collection method
Asylum Cypher Atomic Force Microscope, Horiba LABRAM Raman microscopeResource languages
- en
Copyright
- University of Nottingham