Back Cover: Molecular beam epitaxy of graphene on mica (Phys. Status Solidi B 12/2012)

Abstract

Graphene is in focus of intensive efforts to revolutionize high‐frequency microelectronic applications. Many fascinating ideas relying on the unique properties of graphene have been developed in research laboratories. Among the hindrances on the way to mass production is the lack of compatibility between the existing methods to grow graphene and the practical requirements of silicon mainstream technology. Although these problems are likely to be alleviated if no other solution is found, of major interest remains a search for a method to grow graphene film directly in the device area where it is needed. This graphene film does not necessarily have to cover area much larger than the active region of the device, but high quality of the film and metal‐free growth on an insulating substrate below 1000 °C are important. Lippert et al. (pp. ) demonstrate direct growth of high quality graphene on insulators at moderate temperatures by molecular beam epitaxy. The quality of the graphene indicates a negligible density of defects. These results are combined with insights from density functional theory calculations. The authors discuss the growth mechanism on mica and similar (i.e., SiO2‐terminated) substrates.