Quasi-free-standing graphene nano-islands on Ag(110), grown from solid carbon source

Structural, electronic, and mechanical properties of graphene islands grown by depositing carbon atoms directly onto a hot single crystal Ag(110) surface are experimentally investigated. First, graphene nano-islands with morphologies tuned by carbon flux and substrate temperatures are fabricated. Moiré superstructures are found to be superposed on the graphene islands, corresponding to the islands' varied orientations and periodicities with respect to the underlying Ag(110) substrate. Both Scanning tunnelling spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy indicate a weak interaction between graphene and the substrate, which is further confirmed by scanning tunnelling microscopy tip induced graphene flake movement.