Using low-energy electron microscopy, we find that the mechanisms of graphene growth on Ir(111) depend sensitively on island orientation with respect to Ir. In the temperature range of 750–900 °C, we observe that growing rotated islands are more faceted than islands aligned with the substrate. Further, the growth velocity of rotated islands depends not only on the C adatom supersaturation but also on the geometry of the island edge. We deduce that the growth of rotated islands is kink-nucleation-limited, whereas aligned islands are kink-advancement-limited. These different growth mechanisms are attributed to differences in the graphene edge binding strength to the substrate.

We have used low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and diffraction (LEED) to examine the significance of lattice orientation in graphene growth on Cu(0 0 1). Individual graphene domains undergo anisotropic growth on the Cu surface, and develop into lens shapes with their long axes roughly aligned with Cu〈1 0 0〉 in-plane directions. The long axis of a lens-shaped domain is only rarely oriented along a C〈1 1〉 direction, suggesting that carbon attachment at “zigzag” graphene island edges is unfavorable. A kink-mediated adatom attachment process is consistent with the behavior observed here and reported in the literature. The details of the ridged moiré pattern formed by the superposition of the graphene lattice on the (0 0 1) Cu surface also evolve with the graphene lattice orientation, and are predicted well by a simple geometric model. Managing the kink-mediated growth mode of graphene on Cu(0 0 1) will be necessary for the continued improvement of this graphene synthesis technique.

We have observed the growth of monolayer graphene on Cu foils using low-energy electron microscopy. On the (100)-textured surface of the foils, four-lobed, 4-fold-symmetric islands nucleate and grow. The graphene in each of the four lobes has a different crystallographic alignment with respect to the underlying Cu substrate. These “polycrystalline” islands arise from complex heterogeneous nucleation events at surface imperfections. The shape evolution of the lobes is well explained by an angularly dependent growth velocity. Well-ordered graphene forms only above ∼790 °C. Sublimation-induced motion of Cu steps during growth at this temperature creates a rough surface, where large Cu mounds form under the graphene islands. Strategies for improving the quality of monolayer graphene grown on Cu foils must address these fundamental defect-generating processes.

We report the magnetic and transport properties of Ga1−xMnxP synthesized via ion implantation followed by pulsed laser melting over a range of xx, namely 0.018–0.042. Like Ga1−xMnxAs, Ga1−xMnxP displays a monotonic increase of the ferromagnetic Curie temperature with xx associated with the hole-mediated ferromagnetic phase while thermal annealing above 300 ∘C leads to a quenching of ferromagnetism that is accompanied by a reduction of the substitutional fraction of Mn. However, contrary to observations in Ga1−xMnxAs, Ga1−xMnxP is non-metallic over the entire composition range. At the lower temperatures over which the films are ferromagnetic, hole transport occurs via hopping conduction in a Mn-derived band; at higher temperatures it arises from holes in the valence band which are thermally excited across an energy gap that shrinks with xx.