hide
Free keywords:
Condensed Matter, Materials Science, cond-mat.mtrl-sci
Abstract:
Understanding the nature of the interaction at the graphene/metal interfaces
is the basis for graphene-based electron- and spin-transport devices. Here we
investigate the hybridization between graphene- and metal-derived electronic
states by studying the changes induced through intercalation of a pseudomorphic
monolayer of Cu in between graphene and Ir(111), using scanning tunnelling
microscopy and photoelectron spectroscopy in combination with density
functional theory calculations. We observe the modifications in the band
structure by the intercalation process and its concomitant changes in the
charge distribution at the interface. Through a state-selective analysis of
band hybridization, we are able to determine their contributions to the valence
band of graphene giving rise to the gap opening. Our methodology reveals the
mechanisms that are responsible for the modification of the electronic
structure of graphene at the Dirac point, and permits to predict the electronic
structure of other graphene-metal interfaces.
