Bismuth–Indium–Sodium two-dimensional compounds on Si(111) surface

Abstract

Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observations, it has been found that room temperature (RT) deposition of Na onto the (Bi,In)/Si(111) surfaces, namely the 2 × 2 and √7 × √7, induces formation of a joint bismuth-indium-sodium structure without changing of the initial periodicity. For the 2 × 2-(Bi,In), Na atoms “conceal” defects and domain boundaries, while the √7 × √7-(Bi,In) is reconstructed into the new Si(111)√7 × √7-(Bi,In,Na) structure. The first structure is temperature unstable, but the √7 × √7-(Bi,In,Na) is thermostable and can be formed by ordinary codeposition of the metals onto the Si(111)7 × 7 surface followed by annealing at 350–360 °C. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) has demonstrated that the √7 × √7-(Bi,In,Na) is semiconductor with a ∼0.5 eV energy gap. The structural model of the √7 × √7-(Bi,In,Na) has been proposed on the basis of DFT calculations and comparison of simulated and experimental STM images as well as density of states (DOS) and STS spectra.