Friedel oscillations in graphene-based systems probed by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

For the last 25 years, scientists have demonstrated the capabilities of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) to visualize in real space the response of a two-dimensional electron gas to atomic-scale impurities. The analysis of the Friedel oscillations surrounding the impurities yields valuable information regarding the elastic scattering properties, the band structure, the doping level and the symmetry of the electronic states in the two-dimensional host system. We will address in this article the use of this technique for probing the electronic properties of graphene, the star two-dimensional compound of the last decade. In particular, we will emphasize how this technique can be pushed up to unravel the electronic pseudospin, a distinctive degree of freedom of graphene's Dirac fermions. (C) 2015 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.