title: Laser-induced phase separation of silicon carbide.
abstract: Understanding the phase separation mechanism of solid-state binary compounds induced by laser-material interaction is a challenge because of the complexity of the compound materials and short processing times. Here we present xenon chloride excimer laser-induced melt-mediated phase separation and surface reconstruction of single-crystal silicon carbide and study this process by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and a time-resolved reflectance method. A single-pulse laser irradiation triggers melting of the silicon carbide surface, resulting in a phase separation into a disordered carbon layer with partially graphitic domains (∼2.5 nm) and polycrystalline silicon (∼5 nm). Additional pulse irradiations cause sublimation of only the separated silicon element and subsequent transformation of the disordered carbon layer into multilayer graphene. The results demonstrate viability of synthesizing ultra-thin nanomaterials by the decomposition of a binary system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.|School of Electrical Engineering, Graphene/2D Materials Research Center, Center for Advanced Materials Discovery for 3D Display, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Insung
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: UNIST Central Research Facilities (UCRF), UNIST, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.|School of Materials Science and Engineering, UNIST, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hu Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyeyoung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Gyeongwon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Myunghwan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Byun
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyungjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Program in Materials Science and Engineering, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Adrian M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Chitu
authors.affiliation: Program in Materials Science and Engineering, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA.
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Im
authors.affiliation: Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.|Department of Chemistry, UNIST, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Rodney S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Ruoff
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical Engineering, Graphene/2D Materials Research Center, Center for Advanced Materials Discovery for 3D Display, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Yool
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.|Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Keon Jae
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Lee