Thickness characterization of atomically thin WSe2 on epitaxial graphene by low-energy electron reflectivity oscillations

Abstract

In this work, low-energy electron microscopy is employed to probe structural as well as electronic information in few-layer WSe2 on epitaxial graphene on SiC. The emergence of unoccupied states in the WSe2–graphene heterostructures is studied using spectroscopic low-energy electron reflectivity. Reflectivity minima corresponding to specific WSe2 states that are localized between the monolayers of each vertical heterostructure are shown to reveal the number of layers for each point on the surface. A theory for the origin of these states is developed and utilized to explain the experimentally observed featured in the WSe2 electron reflectivity. This method allows for unambiguous counting of WSe2 layers, and furthermore may be applied to other two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide materials.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jun 22, 2016
Source ID
10.1116/1.4954642

Entities

People

  • Joshua A. Robinson
  • Michael Widom
  • Qin Gao
  • Randall M. Feenstra
  • Sarah M. Eichfeld
  • Sergio C. De La Barrera
  • Yu-Chuan Lin

Organizations

  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • Semiconductor Research Corporation

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.
  • Semiconductor Device Technology

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene