Abstract
The temperature-dependent surface conductivity of the Si(111)()Ag surface was measured using a microscopic four-point probe. The conductivity wasfound to undergo a sharp increase of about three orders of magnitude when the system washeated above about 220 K. This strong conductivity change is reversible and attributed tothe phase transition which is generally believed to occur on this surface. It is also shownthat, in order to find the true surface conductivity, it is necessary to separate it from thecontribution of the bulk and space charge layer. In this work, this is achieved by using afinite-element model.A percolating network of Ag islands on Si(111) was also studied and a much simplerbehaviour (compared to that of Si(111)()Ag) was found. The temperature-dependent conductivity of this system was found todisplay typical metallic behaviour. The absolute value of the conductivity is comparable tothe value expected by modelling the Ag film as exhibiting the bulk Ag transport properties.
Published Version
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