In-situ Observations of Growth of 2D Layered Materials using Low-Energy Electron Microscopy

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are attracting intense attention due to their intriguing physical properties and a wide range of potential applications. Cost-efficient methods of growing large-scale, high-quality 2D crystals are requisites for device applications of 2D materials. To establish the growth techniques, understanding of the growth mechanism is important. For this purpose, we have investigated growth processes of 2D materials using in-situ low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM). In this paper, we report LEEM observations of graphene segregation on a polycrystalline Ni foil and silicene growth on a Ag(111) substrate.