Growth of silicene layers on Ag(111): unexpected effect of the substrate temperature

Jamgotchian, H.; Colignon, Yann; Hamzaoui, N; Ealet, B.; Hoarau, Jean-Yves; Aufray, B.; Bibérian, Jean-Paul

doi:10.1088/0953-8984/24/17/172001

Cited by 331 publications

(433 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…For the (4x4) superstructure of silicene on Ag(111), the nc-AFM measurements clearly indicate a strong buckling of the Si honeycomb layer. [8,16] matches very well our data.…”

supporting

confidence: 90%

“…The atomic contrast acquired by nc-AFM and STM consists of 6 characteristic protrusions arranged in 2 triangles within the unit cell. The observation coincides very well with the proposed (4x4) model structure 8,16 as can be seen directly in Fig.1d. In particular, the (4x4) model structure shows clearly that the Si atoms are relaxed out of the surface plane forming pyramids, whose apices are located at the positions where both the STM and AFM show bright protrusions.…”

supporting

confidence: 87%

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Combined AFM and STM measurements of a silicene sheet grown on the Ag(111) surface

Majzik

Tchalala

Švec

et al. 2013

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter

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In this Letter, we present the first non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) of a silicene on silver (Ag) surface, obtained by combining non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). STM images over large areas of silicene grown on Ag(111) surface show both (√13x√13)R13.9° and (4x4) superstructures.For the widely observed (4x4) structure, the nc-AFM topography shows an atomic-scale contrast inversion as the tip-surface distance is decreased. At the shortest tip-surface distance, the nc-AFM topography is very similar to the STM one. The observed structure in the nc-AFM topography is compatible with only one out of two silicon atoms being visible. This indicates unambiguously a strong buckling of the silicene honeycomb layer.

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“…For the (4x4) superstructure of silicene on Ag(111), the nc-AFM measurements clearly indicate a strong buckling of the Si honeycomb layer. [8,16] matches very well our data.…”

supporting

confidence: 90%

supporting

confidence: 87%

Combined AFM and STM measurements of a silicene sheet grown on the Ag(111) surface

Majzik

Tchalala

Švec

et al. 2013

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…On the other hand, inducing a band gap by applying an electric field is not possible in monolayer of graphene. It is interesting to note that, recently, silicene has been grown epitaxially on a close-packed silver surface [20][21][22][23][24][25][26] and hence it opens up a possibility of validating the existing theoretical prediction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silicene beyond mono-layers—different stacking configurations and their properties

Kamal

Chakrabarti

Banerjee

et al. 2013

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter

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We carry out a computational study on the geometric and electronic properties of multi-layers of silicene in different stacking configurations using a state-of-art abinitio density functional theory based calculations. In this work we investigate the evolution of these properties with increasing number of layers (n) ranging from 1 to 10. Though, mono-layer of silicene possesses properties similar to those of graphene, our results show that the geometric and electronic properties of multilayers of silicene are strikingly different from those of multi-layers of graphene. We observe that there exist strong inter-layer covalent bondings between the layers in multi-layers of silicene as opposed to weak van der Waal's bonding which exists between the graphene layers. The inter-layer bonding strongly influences the geometric and electronic structures of these multi-layers. Like bilayers of graphene, silicene with two different stacking configurations AA and AB exhibits linear and parabolic dispersions around the Fermi level, respectively. However, unlike graphene, for bi-layers of silicene, these dispersion curves are shifted in band diagram; this is due to the strong inter-layer bonding present in the latter. For n > 3, we study the geometric and electronic properties of multi-layers with four different stacking configurations namely, AAAA, AABB, ABAB and ABC. Our results on cohesive energy show that all the multi-layers considered are energetically stable. Furthermore, we find that the three stacking configurations (AAAA, AABB and ABC) containing tetrahedral coordination have much higher cohesive energy than that of Bernal (ABAB) stacking configuration. This is in contrast to the case of multi-layers of graphene where ABAB is reported to be the lowest energy configuration. We also observe that bands near the Fermi level in lower energy stacking configurations AAAA, AABB and ABC correspond to the surface atoms and these surface states are responsible for the semi-metallic character of these multi-layers.

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“…While the spin-polarization is generated by spin-orbit coupling (SOC), the entanglement between spin and orbital degrees of freedom due to the SOC significantly reduces the degree of spin-polarization of spin-split states in most non-magnetic semiconductors including the topological insulators 4 . Recently, silicene, a close relative of graphene 5 , has been predicted and synthesized [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] . The band structure of silicene is similar to that of graphene in that the conduction and valence edges occur at the corners (K and K' points) of the Brillouin zone (BZ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Gated silicene as a tunable source of nearly 100% spin-polarized electrons

et al. 2013

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Silicene is a one-atom-thick two-dimensional crystal of silicon with a hexagonal lattice structure that is related to that of graphene but with atomic bonds that are buckled rather than flat. This buckling confers advantages on silicene over graphene, because it should, in principle, generate both a band gap and polarized spin-states that can be controlled with a perpendicular electric field. Here we use first-principles calculations to show that field-gated silicene possesses two gapped Dirac cones exhibiting nearly 100% spin-polarization, situated at the corners of the Brillouin zone. Using this fact, we propose a design for a silicene-based spin-filter that should enable the spin-polarization of an output current to be switched electrically, without switching external magnetic fields. Our quantum transport calculations indicate that the proposed designs will be highly efficient (nearly 100% spin-polarization) and robust against weak disorder and edge imperfections. We also propose a Y-shaped spin/valley separator that produces spin-polarized current at two output terminals with opposite spins.

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Growth of silicene layers on Ag(111): unexpected effect of the substrate temperature

Cited by 331 publications

References 19 publications

Combined AFM and STM measurements of a silicene sheet grown on the Ag(111) surface

Combined AFM and STM measurements of a silicene sheet grown on the Ag(111) surface

Silicene beyond mono-layers—different stacking configurations and their properties

Gated silicene as a tunable source of nearly 100% spin-polarized electrons

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