Large-scale Growth of Quasifreestanding Graphene by using a Single-step Process

Various methods have been suggested to realize freestanding or suspended graphene, which is expected to exhibit the intrinsic properties of graphene. However, in previously reported methods, multiple-step processes have been applied to produce freestanding graphene on a substrate. Here, we demonstrate that quasifreestanding graphene on a substrate can be realized through a simple single-step process. In this experiment, self-etching of nano-scale SiC steps of 8° off-axis vicinal SiC contributed to the formation of quasifreestanding graphene on an Si-faced SiC wafer, which was confirmed using low-energy electron diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and two-probe resistance measurements. Such a single-step technique for the growth of quasifreestanding graphene could pave the way towards graphene-based silicon-carbide micro-electronics.