Interplay of electronic structure and atomic ordering on surfaces: Momentum-resolved measurements of Cs atoms adsorbed on a Ag(111) substrate

Abstract

Surface-state mediated interactions between adsorbates on surfaces can be exploited for the fabrication of self-organized nanostructures such as two-dimensional superlattices of adatoms. Using angle-resolved photoemission, we provide experimental evidence that these interactions can be drastically modified by adsorbate-induced alterations in the surface potential barrier. This, in turn, will cause significant changes in the ordering of the adsorbates. For the studied case example of Cs adatoms on Ag(111), our momentum-resolved measurements reveal the surface-state Fermi wave vector to be increased by as much as $\ensuremath{\sim}$100$%$ for coverages around 0.03 ML. Our results unravel the origin for the hitherto puzzling and unexpectedly small lattice constant in the adatom superlattice observed for this system.