Superlattice of resonators on monolayer graphene created by intercalated gold nanoclusters

¹ Institut de Sciences des Matériaux de Mulhouse IS2M-LRC 7228-CNRS-UHA - 4, rue des frères Lumière, 68093 Mulhouse, France, EU
² Semiconductor Materials and Device Group, Electronic and Electrical Engineering University of Sheffield Mappin street S1 3JD Sheffield, UK, EU
³ Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Sud - 91405 Orsay Cedex, France, EU
⁴ Institut de Physique Théorique, CEA/Saclay - Orme des Merisiers, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France, EU

^a laurent.simon@uha.fr

Received: 5 July 2010
Accepted: 3 September 2010

Abstract

Here we report on a “new” type of ordering which allows to modify the electronic structure of a graphene monolayer (ML). We have intercalated small gold clusters between the top monolayer graphene and the buffer layer of epitaxial graphene. We show that these clusters perturb the quasiparticles on the ML graphene, acting as quantum dots creating a superlattice of resonators on the graphene ML, as revealed by a strong pattern of standing waves. A detailed analysis of the standing-wave pattern using Fourier Transform Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy strongly indicates that this phenomenon can arise from a strong modification of the band structure of graphene and (or) from Charge Density Waves (CDW) where a large extension of Van Hove singularities is involved.