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Bottom-Up Growth of Monolayer Honeycomb SiC

C. M. Polley, H. Fedderwitz, T. Balasubramanian, A. A. Zakharov, R. Yakimova, O. Bäcke, J. Ekman, S. P. Dash, S. Kubatkin, and S. Lara-Avila
Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 076203 – Published 14 February 2023
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Abstract

The long theorized two-dimensional allotrope of SiC has remained elusive amid the exploration of graphenelike honeycomb structured monolayers. It is anticipated to possess a large direct band gap (2.5 eV), ambient stability, and chemical versatility. While sp2 bonding between silicon and carbon is energetically favorable, only disordered nanoflakes have been reported to date. Here we demonstrate large-area, bottom-up synthesis of monocrystalline, epitaxial monolayer honeycomb SiC atop ultrathin transition metal carbide films on SiC substrates. We find the 2D phase of SiC to be almost planar and stable at high temperatures, up to 1200°C in vacuum. Interactions between the 2D-SiC and the transition metal carbide surface result in a Dirac-like feature in the electronic band structure, which in the case of a TaC substrate is strongly spin-split. Our findings represent the first step towards routine and tailored synthesis of 2D-SiC monolayers, and this novel heteroepitaxial system may find diverse applications ranging from photovoltaics to topological superconductivity.

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  • Received 18 September 2022
  • Accepted 22 December 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.076203

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by Bibsam.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

synopsis

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How To Grow Silicon Carbide

Published 14 February 2023

Adapting a method for making graphene, researchers have created a 2D honeycomb material that is predicted to have desirable mechanical, thermal, and optical properties.

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Authors & Affiliations

C. M. Polley1,2,*, H. Fedderwitz1, T. Balasubramanian1, A. A. Zakharov1, R. Yakimova3, O. Bäcke2, J. Ekman2, S. P. Dash2, S. Kubatkin2, and S. Lara-Avila2,4

  • 1MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University, Fotongatan 2, 22484 Lund, Sweden
  • 2Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden
  • 3Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, Linköping, 581 83 Sweden
  • 4National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington TW11 0LW, United Kingdom

  • *craig.polley@maxiv.lu.se

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Issue

Vol. 130, Iss. 7 — 17 February 2023

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