Edge structure of epitaxial graphene islands

Graphene islands grown epitaxially on 6H-SiC(0001) were studied using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. Under specific growth conditions, approximate to 10 nm single-layer graphene islands are observed on top of the SiC buffer layer and align with the SiC(0001)-1 x 1 lattice directions. Atomic-resolution images show that the edges of the island closely follow an armchair-edge configuration.