Surface phase diagram and alloy formation for antimony on Au(110)

Abstract

The authors have evaporated submonolayer to monolayer Sb films on the clean Au(110) surface and investigated the resultant Sb-induced reconstructions using low energy electron diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and surface x-ray diffraction. They discovered a sequence of reconstructions, namely, c(2×2), (3×3)R54.7°, (2−112), and p(5×6), with increasing coverage of Sb. The well-known (2×1) reconstruction of the clean Au(110) surface changes to c(2×2) at an Sb coverage of θ≈0.5 ML. At higher Sb coverages, there is a phase transition from c(2×2) to (3×3)R54.7°, with the (3×3)R54.7° pattern emerging at an Sb coverage of θ≈0.7 ML. Upon further deposition, the superstructure spots of the (3×3)R54.7° reconstruction each split into two, resulting in the (2−112) pattern at a coverage of θ≈0.8 ML. Finally, an Sb∕Au(110)-p(5×6) reconstruction emerges at coverages in excess of 1 ML. They have also studied the temperature dependence of the c(2×2) surface phase.