Growth and Characterization of Ultrathin Epitaxial Graphite films on Silicon Carbide Tianbo Li Georgia Tech School of Physics   Ultrathin graphite films grown on the 4H/6H SiC (0001) surface - a platform for ballistic-carrier devices based on nano-patterned epitaxial graphene - were investigated through Auger electron spectroscopy, low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Graphite films, several graphene layers thick, were grown on both the Si- and C-terminated faces via thermal desorption of silicon. STM imaging was used to identify a modified  reconstruction layer between graphene layers and the SiC substrate. Through comparison of STM and LEED results, a complex LEED pattern has been found to arise from the modified  reconstruction layer, a surface corrugation of the graphene film, and from double scattering. Prior interpretations attributed the LEED pattern to double scattering effects alone. STM images indicate that the graphite films are continuous over substrate steps, but differences in the local electronic structure exist between adjacent domains, as determined via tunneling current versus voltage spectroscopy.