Structure analysis of CVD graphene films based on HRTEM contrast simulations

Low-voltage, aberration-corrected, High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) has proven to be an excellent tool for structure analysis of graphene films, which are typically one or a few atoms thick. Experimental observations of graphene films by HRTEM exhibit several challenges due to low contrast and sensitivity of graphene to intense electron beams. Hence the contrast interpretation requires computer simulations for reliable structure identification. HRTEM contrast simulations of graphene films based on multislice algorithms are presented and compared to experimental results. Stacking sequence, and the number of layers have been analyzed in conjunction with imaging conditions.