The essential difference between remote epitaxy and van der Waals epitaxy: Long-range orbital hybridization at the GaN/graphene/AlN interface

•Remote epitaxial growth of GaN on graphene.•The number of graphene layers affects the in-plane orientation of the grown GaN.•Revealing the essential difference between remote epitaxy and van der Waals epitaxy.•DFT calculations of the electronic properties of the GaN/graphene/AlN interface.