Electronic Band Engineering of Epitaxial Graphene by Atomic Intercalation

Using calculations from first principles, we have investigated possible ways of engineering the electronic band structure of epitaxial graphene on SiC. In particular, intercalation of different atomic species, such as Hydrogen, Fluorine, Sodium, Germanium, Carbon and Silicon is shown to modify and tune the interface electronic properties and band alignments. Our results suggest that intercalation in graphene is quite different from that in graphite, and could provide a fundamentally new way to achieve electronic control in graphene electronics.