  Monolayer epitaxial graphene is an appropriate candidate for a wide variety
of electronic and optical applications. One advantage of growing graphene on
the Si face of SiC is that it develops as a single crystal, as does the layer
underneath, commonly referred to as the interfacial buffer layer. The
properties of this supporting layer include a band gap, making it of interest
to groups seeking to build devices with on-off capabilities. In this work,
using density functional theory, we have calculated the bonding characteristics
of the buffer layer to the SiC substrate beneath. These calculations were used
to determine a periodic length between the covalent bonds acting as anchor
points in this interface. Additionally, it is evident that the formation of
these anchor points depends on the lattice mismatch between the graphene layer
and SiC.
