Fabrication of vertically aligned graphene sheets on SiC substrates

Fabrication of unidirectional arrays of VAGSs were achieved on nonpolar (10 (1) over bar0) and (11 (2) over bar0) SiC substrates by thermal decomposition of SiC. The morphology and structural characteristics of the VAGSs were studied and compared with that of the VAGSs grown on the (000 (1) over bar) (C-face) SiC substrate. It is found that the basal plane orientations of the VAGSs are predominantly influenced by the orientation of the SiC substrate. The mechanisms behind the phenomena were studied and discussed. As an example, the anisotropic magnetism of graphene was studied with applied magnetic field parallel and perpendicular to the graphene plane based on fully carbonized VAGSs. A nonpolar SiC substrate is a new choice for the reproducible and convenient fabrication of massive ordering graphene arrays for both fundamental research and potential applications of graphene based functional materials.