Automated preparation of high-quality epitaxial graphene on 6H-SiC(0001)

In this contribution, we present details on a recently installed hot-wall reactor for graphene growth on silicon carbide (SiC) in argon under atmospheric pressure. Both preparation steps, i.e., the preconditioning of the SiC substrate by hydrogen etching and the graphene growth are performed in this setup in a fully automated manner thus ensuring the preparation of high-quality graphene on an everyday basis. Samples were characterized by atomic force microscopy and X-ray induced photoelectron spectroscopy. We present results on the optimization of the hydrogen etching procedure. The thickness distribution of graphene samples grown in the automated process is Gaussian with a mean value of 1.1 monolayers and a standard deviation of 0.17 monolayers. This indicates a highly controlled process. (C) 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim