Evidence for Electronically Isolated Atomic Chains: Sb–Pb Structures on the Si(553) Surface

Marek Dachniewicz,Marek Kopciuszyński,Mariusz Krawiec,Mieczysław Jałochowski,Mirosław Strȯżak,Lucyna Żurawek

doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c03983

Marek Dachniewicz, Marek Kopciuszyński + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c03983

Copy DOI

Abstract

Metallic atomic chains weakly coupled to the substrate may be a practical implementation of extreme one-dimensional quantum systems. We report a two-step method of assembling one-dimensional Sb atomic chains on an ordered stepped Si(553) surface with Pb nanoribbons. We show that Pb atoms act as a surfactant, induce the dissociation of Sb molecules, and enable the formation of monatomic chains. Combining atomistic modeling within density functional theory with scanning tunneling microscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the formed Sb chains are highly strained and at the same time electronically isolated, exhibiting extremely well-defined one-dimensional free-electron like behavior.

Highlights

Surface physics focuses on one-dimensional (1D) materials because the reduction of dimensionality leads to peculiar and exotic quantum phenomena like spin−charge separation, spin, charge, and spin−orbit density waves, Peierls metal−insulator transition, 1D diffusion of atoms, intrinsic nanomagnetism, or self-doping of atomic wires, to name a few.[1−9] They were discovered in specific 1D nanostructures, usually featuring different physicochemical characteristics, that may be critical for seeking and revealing new phenomena in a world of reduced spatial dimensions
Combining atomistic modeling within density functional theory (DFT) with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we demonstrate that the formed Sb chains are strongly strained, and at the same time electronically isolated, exhibiting one-dimensional free-electron like behavior
ARPES and reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) measurements were made at room temperature (RT), and STM measurements were made at RT and 110 K

Summary

Introduction

Surface physics focuses on one-dimensional (1D) materials because the reduction of dimensionality leads to peculiar and exotic quantum phenomena like spin−charge separation, spin, charge, and spin−orbit density waves, Peierls metal−insulator transition, 1D diffusion of atoms, intrinsic nanomagnetism, or self-doping of atomic wires, to name a few.[1−9] They were discovered in specific 1D nanostructures, usually featuring different physicochemical characteristics, that may be critical for seeking and revealing new phenomena in a world of reduced spatial dimensions. Adsorption of antimony on the Si(114) followed by annealing at 600 °C resulted in a quasi-1D surface reconstruction[19] and passivation. The annealing was necessary to dissociate Sb tetramers emitted from the sublimation source.[20] during the annealing, the deposited Sb atoms diffuse into the substrate and cause the substituted Si atoms to be outdiffused and adsorbed on top of the surface.[21] Sb deposited in submonolayer amount on Si(111)(7 × 7) formed clusters even if the substrate was kept at 500 °C.22. As our measurements reveal, Sb atoms adsorb in a cluster form on a bare Si(553) surface. Annealing of Si(553) with adsorbed Sb leads to the formation of Si(111) facets with a √3 × √3 reconstruction

Methods

Results

Conclusion