Diverse magic nanoclustering in submonolayer Tl/Si(111) system

Nanoclusters of Group-III Metal Atoms on Si(111)-7 × 7

“…We also noted that the hopping frequency was larger than 10 10 s −1 for the 'nonreconstruction' N = 9 cluster, 54 which has a lower energy barrier than the 'reconstruction' cluster. 51 Experimentally, several phases above RT were detected by STM, 55 highlighting the prevalent effect of the temperature. As described above, although our calculations show that Tl atoms are favored to be located in the faulted half of the unit cells on the non-reconstructed substrate up to N = 3 and also for 6 ≤ N ≤ 9 on the reconstructed surface, we still do not understand the intermediate step (4 ≤ N ≤ 5) of the growth mechanism of Tl nanocluster.…”

Adhesion of Ag atoms to In surface magic clusters on Si(111)‐7 × 7 studied by UHV‐TEM/STM

“…Particularly, the fabrication of ordered nanoclusters is of great importance since they are potential candidates for a template or a substrate of nanostructures and could be used to fabricate and pattern nanoelectronics 1, 2. Among them, surface magic clusters (SMCs) are most promising and have been studied intensively in the last decade 3–7. Deposition of metal atoms at quite low rate to a 7 × 7 reconstructed Si (111) surface leads to ordering of nanoclusters with identical size and atomic structure.…”

Atomically Resolved Charge Redistribution for Ga Nanocluster Arrays on the Si(111)‐7 × 7 Surface

“…Nanocrystals, whether isolated or arranged in arrays, are attractive for a wide range of applications1, 2 such as catalysis,3–6 electronic devices,7–10 and magnetic devices and storage 11–14. Hence, the recent discovery of materials that self‐assemble into ordered arrays of identical nanoclusters on the Si(111)‐7 × 7 surface is an enabling development 15–28. The Si(111)‐7 × 7 surface is particularly noteworthy for nanoelectronics, molecular electronics, and chemical sensing because of its rich electronic and chemical structure.…”

“…The formation of uniform nanocluster arrays on the Si(111)‐7 × 7 surface24 has been demonstrated for a wide variety of materials, including In,15, 16 Ga,15, 16, 19 Al,15–18, 20, 21 Tl,28 Na,23 Co,26, 27 Cu,25 and Pb 22. These nanoclusters have many intriguing features in common: uniform atomic structure; high thermal stability; formation via carefully controlled deposition and annealing conditions; and self‐assembly into well‐ordered, large‐area arrays.…”

“…Previous experimental studies on the electronic properties of metal nanoclusters on the Si(111)‐7 × 7 surface have focused on individual nanoclusters as opposed to the delocalized properties of the two‐dimensional array as a whole. For example, STM imaging has been performed at variable applied biases for Co28 and Ga,35 and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) data have been gathered in the form of current–voltage curves ( I vs. V ) and differential tunneling conductance curves (d I /d V vs. V ) measured at fixed locations on the sample surface for In15, 16, 35 and Co 27. A preliminary study using current imaging tunneling spectroscopy (CITS) to map the surface local density of states (LDOS) for Al nanoclusters has also been reported,37 but the results are only shown for a single unit cell.…”