title: Graphene/3C-SiC Hybrid Nanolaminate.
abstract: In this work, we demonstrate a one-step approach to create graphene/3C-SiC nanolaminate structure using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition technique. Layer-by-layer arrangement of thin 3C-SiC layers and graphene sheets is obtained with the thicknesses of the individual 3C-SiC layers and graphene sheets being 5-10 nm and 2-5 nm, respectively. An intimate contact between 3C-SiC and the graphene sheets is achieved and the nanolaminate film shows a high room temperature conductivity of 96.1 S/cm. A dedicated structural analysis of the nanolaminates by means of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) reveals that the growth of the nanolaminates follows an iterative process: preferential graphene nucleation around the planar defects at the central region of the SiC layer, leading to the "splitting" of the SiC layer; and the thickening of the SiC layer after being "split". A growth mechanism based on both kinetics and thermodynamics is proposed. Following the proposed mechanism, it is possible to control the layer thickness of the graphene/3C-SiC hybrid nanolaminate by manipulating the carbon concentration in the gas phase, which is further experimentally verified. The high electrical conductivity, large surface area porous structure, feasible integration on different substrates (metal, Mo; semiconductor, Si and 2H-SiC; insulator, diamond) of the graphene/3C-SiC hybrid nanolaminate as well as other unprecedented advantages of the nanolaminate structure make it very promising for applications in mechanical, energy, and sensor-related areas.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Engineering, University of Siegen , Paul-Bonatz-Str. 9-11, 57076 Siegen, Germany.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016 China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Engineering, University of Siegen , Paul-Bonatz-Str. 9-11, 57076 Siegen, Germany.
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heuser
authors.affiliation: Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016 China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Engineering, University of Siegen , Paul-Bonatz-Str. 9-11, 57076 Siegen, Germany.
authors.forename: Haiyuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Engineering, University of Siegen , Paul-Bonatz-Str. 9-11, 57076 Siegen, Germany.|Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016 China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
keywords: chemical vapor deposition; graphene; interface; laminate; silicon carbide