Theoretical modeling of experimental HREEL spectra for supported graphene

Abstract

We present a simple model for the resonant feature designated as the pi plasmon in single-layer graphene supported by a metal substrate, which is excited via high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) in the off-specular scattering geometry. Using a two-dimensional, two-fluid hydrodynamic model for interband transitions of graphenes pi and sigma electrons and an empirical Drude-Lorentz model for the metal in the local approximation enables us to reproduce, at the qualitative and semi-quantitative levels, the typical experimental features of the HREEL spectra in the visible to the ultraviolet frequency range. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.