Surface phase transition and interface interaction in the α-Sn/InSb{111} system

Abstract

Thin films of a-Sn were epitaxially grown on InSb(111)A and InSb(111)Bsubstrates at room temperature. %'e studied growth modes and phase transitions of the films by using refiection high-energy electron diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. The films on InSb(111)A grew in biatomic layer-bylayer modes. Characteristic growth features for Sn/InSb(111)B were due to the segregation of Sb to the a-Sn film surface. Thus, we used the Sn/InSb(111) A system to examine the stability of the films as a function of Sn coverage. The as-grown film surfaces changed irreversibly from the (3 X 3) structure, to the (2 X 2), and, subsequently, to the (1 X 1) structure, and finally to melting while going to elevated temperatures. The transition temperatures for the thinner film were more than 10'C higher than for the thicker film. Finally, to study the role of an interface in the stable growth of a-Sn on InSb(111)A, we performed discrete variational Xa cluster calculations.

Strain-induced band engineering in monolayer stanene on Sb(111)

“…1(f)) along the red dashed arrow shown in Fig. 1(c) indicates a similar lattice constant (0.430.01 nm) with substrate which is slightly smaller than either Sn(111) surface [24] or freestanding stanene (0.468 nm) [14]. The smaller lattice constant suggest the existence of compressive strain in stanene on Sb(111), which may cause a slight fluctuation in the buckling degree of Sn atoms, and it explains the inhomogeneity in the image contrast in Fig.…”

“…1(g). Further deposition of Sn atoms on Sb(111) with coverage exceeding one monolayer will form 22 reconstruction on the top of Sn layer, which is similar to the -Sn(111) grown on InSb(111) substrate [24,25]. Therefore, the growth of tin on Sb(111) should be layer-by-layer mode.…”

Elemental Topological Dirac Semimetal: α -Sn on InSb(111)

“…1(c)) demonstrates a good film quality. The pattern also reveals a 3×3 reconstruction, which is known to exist on the -Sn(111) face [30]. Fig.…”

Gapped electronic structure of epitaxial stanene on InSb(111)

“…Prior studies have shown that stanene films can be prepared by depositing Sn on selected substrates including Bi2Te3, Sb(111), and Bi(111) [20][21][22] [25,26]. Here, using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (HREED) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we show that a high-quality single Sn layer can be grown on the (111)B-face of InSb (the B face is Sb-terminated, while the A face is In-terminated).…”