Single-domain nickel films for production of graphene

Resumo

A technique for depositing single-domain heteroepitaxial nickel films onto sapphire substrates is presented. It is demonstrated that high-temperature annealing of these substrates in oxygen alters their near-surface layer in a way that enables the growth of single-domain heteroepitaxial (111) Ni films on a (0001) Al₂O₃ substrate. Single-domain heteroepitaxial (111) Ni films on a (0001) Al₂O₃ substrate, which can be taken as the basis for a technique for fabrication of large-area single-crystalline graphene films, were synthesized for the first time.