Additional component in multi-layer epitaxial graphene grown on the C-terminated surface of SiC, which exhibits the characteristic electronic properties of a AB-stacked graphene bilayer, is identified in magneto-optical response of this material. We show that these inclusions represent a well-defined platform for accurate magneto-spectroscopy of unperturbed graphene bilayers.

Phone: þ48 22 814 02 07, Fax: þ48 22 811 56 07We are presenting some physical and chemical basis of ammonothermal method of bulk gallium nitride (GaN) synthesis in ammonobasic route. The substrates of polar, non-polar, and semi-polar orientation can be obtained by this method. Excellent structural and wide spectrum of electrical parameters of truly bulk GaN crystals obtained this way are revealed. Large progress in manufacturing of large size (1-in.) non-polar ammonothermal crystals is reported. A preliminary results on performance of the devices grown on ammonothermal GaN substrates will be shown.

In this letter, the authors demonstrate large size m-plane GaN substrates grown by ammonothermal method. These substrates have excellent structural quality. The concentration of threading dislocation density is below 5×104 cm−2 and the full width at half maximum for the symmetrical and asymmetrical peaks equals 16 and 19 arc sec, respectively. Also good optical quality, the energy gap-related transition is clearly observed at room temperature in photoluminescence and contactless electroreflectance spectra. GaN epilayers deposited on these substrates exhibit intrinsic narrow exciton lines which are very sensitive to the optical selection rules typical for hexagonal symmetry, proving truly nonpolar character of the material.

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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of pristine graphene monolayer and its utility as a scaffold for murine fibroblast L929 cell line. Cell viability, morphology, cytoskeleton architecture (microfilaments and microtubules), cell adhesion and migration into the scratch-wound area were determined using pristine graphene-coated microscopic slides. We found that fibroblasts cultured on pristine graphene monolayer exhibited changes in cell attachment, motility and cytoskeleton organization. Graphene was found to have no cytotoxicity on L929 fibroblasts and increased cell adhesion and proliferation within 24 h of culture. The area of cells growing on graphene was comparable to the area of fibroblasts cultured on glass. Migration of cells on the surface of graphene substrate appeared to be more regular in comparison to uncoated glass surface, however in both control (glass) and experimental (graphene) groups the scratch wound was closed after 48 h of culture. Taken together, our results indicate that pristine graphene monolayer is non-toxic for murine subcutaneous connective tissue fibroblasts and could be beneficial for recovery of damaged tissues after injury. These studies could be helpful in evaluating biocompatibility of graphene, which still remains ambiguous.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations of epitaxial graphene, grown on on-axis and 8° off-axis C-terminated 4H–SiC (0001¯) surfaces are presented. The TEM results provide evidence that the first carbon layer is separated by 3.2 Å from the C-terminated SiC surface. It was also found that thick graphene layers grown on on-axis SiC (0001¯) are loosely bound to the SiC substrate. Moreover, the structural observations reveal a certain degree of disorder between the graphene planes, which manifests itself in a rotation of the layers and in an increase in the interplanar spacing between certain carbon layers from 3.35 Å, which is characteristic for graphite, up to 3.7 Å. Graphene grown on 8° off-axis SiC (0001¯) substrates covers the steps of SiC and as a result disorder seems to be not as pronounced as it is on the on-axis SiC (0001¯) substrate.

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Principal structural defects in graphene layers, synthesized on a carbon-terminated face, i.e. the SiC(0001 ) face of a 4H-SiC substrate, are investigated using microscopic methods.Results of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) reveal their atomic arrangement. Mechanism of such defects creation, directly related to the underlying crystallographic structure of the SiC substrate, is elucidated. The connection between the 4H-SiC(0001 ) surface morphology, including the presence of the single atomic steps, the sequences of atomic steps, and also the macrosteps, and the corresponding emergence of planar defective structure (discontinuities of carbon layers and wrinkles) is revealed. It is shown that disappearance of the multistep island leads to the creation of wrinkles in the graphene layers. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation results show that the diffusion of both silicon and carbon atoms is possible on a Si-terminated SiC surface at a high temperature close to 1600°C. The creation of buffer layer at the Si-terminated surface effectively blocks horizontal diffusion, preventing growth of thick graphene layer at this face.At the carbon terminated SiC surface, the buffer layer is absent leaving space for effective horizontal diffusion of both silicon and carbon atoms. DFT results show that excess carbon atoms converts a topmost carbon layer to sp 2 bonded configuration, liberating Si atoms in a) Electronic mail: jolanta.borysiuk@fuw.edu.pl 2 barrierless process. The silicon atoms escape through the channels created at the bending layers defects, while the carbon atoms are incorporated into the growing graphene layers.These results explain growth of thick graphene underneath existing graphene cover and also the creation of the principal defects at the C-terminated SiC(0001) surface.