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Bottom-Up Growth of Monolayer Honeycomb SiC

Polley, C. M. LU ; Fedderwitz, H. LU ; Balasubramanian, T. LU ; Zakharov, A. A. LU ; Yakimova, R. ; Bäcke, O. ; Ekman, J. ; Dash, S. P. ; Kubatkin, S. and Lara-Avila, S. (2023) In Physical Review Letters 130(7).
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... (More)

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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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Physical Review Letters
volume
130
issue
7
article number
076203
publisher
American Physical Society
external identifiers
  • scopus:85148326831
  • pmid:36867809
ISSN
0031-9007
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.076203
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
71ff0294-20e6-4e4d-9f94-25e674f18b0b
date added to LUP
2023-03-03 13:31:34
date last changed
2024-09-21 08:56:30
@article{71ff0294-20e6-4e4d-9f94-25e674f18b0b,
  abstract     = {{<p>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.</p>}},
  author       = {{Polley, C. M. and Fedderwitz, H. and Balasubramanian, T. and Zakharov, A. A. and Yakimova, R. and Bäcke, O. and Ekman, J. and Dash, S. P. and Kubatkin, S. and Lara-Avila, S.}},
  issn         = {{0031-9007}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7}},
  publisher    = {{American Physical Society}},
  series       = {{Physical Review Letters}},
  title        = {{Bottom-Up Growth of Monolayer Honeycomb SiC}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.076203}},
  doi          = {{10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.076203}},
  volume       = {{130}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}