Electronic structures of an epitaxial graphene monolayer on SiC(0001) after metal intercalation (metal = Al, Ag, Au, Pt, and Pd): A first-principles study

The atomic structures and electronic properties of metal-intercalated (metal = Al, Ag, Au, Pt, and Pd) graphene monolayers on SiC(0001) were investigated using first-principles calculations. The unique Dirac cone of graphene near the K point reappeared as the graphite layer was intercalated by these metals at a coverage of 3/8 ML. Furthermore, our results show that metal intercalation leads to n-type doping of graphene. The bands contributed from graphene exhibit small splitting after intercalation, whereas the bands contributed from the intercalated metal layer have significant Rashba spin-orbit splittings in all cases except Al. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3682303]