Abstract

An extreme low-deposition rate has been used to fabricate highly ordered Mn nanocluster arrays on A Si(111)-7x7 surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies reveal that the Mn nanoclusters prefer to occupy the faulted half-unit cells of the Si(1110)-7x7 with preference fraction similar to 95%. High-resolution STM images demonstrate that two types of three-dimensional Mn nanoclusters coexist in the arrays; one is an identical triangle cluster and the other is an off-center pear cluster. A planar identical Mn cluster has been obtained at the initial deposition stages, indicating the coverage-dependent Mn clustering. Careful analysis of the initial adsorption stage of Mn reveals that individual Mn atoms prefer to occupy the bridging B(2) sites around Si rest atoms and the substitution site of Si center adatoms. The formation mechanism of Mn nanocluster arrays is attributed to the delicate balance between thermodynamic tendency and kinetic limitation.

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