Silicon quantum wires on Ag(1 1 0): Fermi surface and quantum well states

Abstract

One-dimensional Si quantum wires have been grown on silver single crystals upon deposition of ∼0.25 monolayer of Si on Ag(1 1 0) surfaces. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) clearly shows parallel 1D Si chains along the [−1 1 0] Ag crystallographic direction. Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) confirms the massively parallel assembly of these selforganized Nanowires (NWs). We have characterized these nano-objects by measuring the dispersion of the NWs valence band at room temperature using Angle-Resolved PhotoEmission Spectroscopy (ARPES). Also, the Fermi Surface (FS) of the Ag(1 1 0) substrate has been mapped before and after the silicon deposition, trying to put in evidence the metallic or semiconductor character of the NWs silicon's states close to the Fermi level. Our results show the existence of well-defined quantum states associated to the silicon super-structure. Both LEED and ARUPS results confirm that the NWs have typical 1D features, however their metallic or semiconductor character could not be confirmed.