AFM study of ridges in few-layer epitaxial graphene grown on the carbon-face of 4H-SiC(000(1)over-bar)

A characterization of the graphitic overlayer that forms on 4H-SiC(000 (1) over bar) substrates heated for ten minutes to temperatures T > 1350 degrees C under vacuum conditions has been performed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the C-face reveals the presence of graphitic carbon with a thickness that increases with growth temperature. Parallel atomic force microscope (AFM) studies find a mesh-like network of ridges with high curvature that bound atomically flat, tile-like facets of few-layer graphene (FLG). By imaging the network that develops on FLG, it is possible to map out the regions where the elastic energy is concentrated. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.