Formation of silicene on silver: Strong interaction between Ag and Si

Prévot, Geoffroy; Bernard, Romain; Cruguel, Hervé; Curcella, Alberto; Lazzeri, Michele; Leoni, Thomas; Masson, L.; Ranguis, Alain; Borensztein, Y.

doi:10.1002/pssb.201552524

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…A large number of simulated configurations have been found to have nearly the same free energy, the most stable one corresponding to the coincidence between a (√21×√21) R 10.9° silicene supercell and a (2√13×2√13) R 13.9° graphene supercell. Whereas such a variety of reconstructions are observed for Si/Ag(111), , all reconstructions observed on HOPG after Si evaporation correspond to (√3×√3) R 3 superstructures. Therefore, this superstructure is unlikely to be a silicene nanosheet weakly interacting with HOPG.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…But several studies had previously reported the formation of clusters instead of 2D sheets, − indicating an island growth mode, also called Volmer–Weber. As the growth of silicene and germanene has been shown to occur in a narrow temperature window with a very small flux of Si or Ge atoms, ,, such specific growth conditions may not have been precisely considered in all studies. Moreover, as proposed in refs and , both monolayers and 3D islands could be present on the substrate surface.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Resolving the Controversial Existence of Silicene and Germanene Nanosheets Grown on Graphite

Wei

Diener

et al. 2018

ACS Nano

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The highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface, consisting of a dangling bond-free lattice, is regarded as a potential substrate for van der Waals heteroepitaxy of two-dimensional layered materials. In this work, the growth of silicon and germanium on HOPG is investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy by using typical synthesis conditions for silicene and germanene on metal surfaces. At low coverages, the deposition of Si and Ge gives rise to tiny and sparse clusters that are surrounded by a honeycomb superstructure. From the detailed analysis of the superstructure, its comparison with the one encountered on the bare and clean HOPG surface, and simulations of the electron density, we conclude that the superstructure is caused by charge density modulations in the HOPG surface. At high coverages, we find the formation of clusters, assembled in filamentary patterns, which indicates a Volmer-Weber growth mode instead of a layer-by-layer growth mode. This coverage-dependent study sets the stage for revisiting recent results alleging the synthesis of silicene and germanene on the HOPG surface.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

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confidence: 99%

Resolving the Controversial Existence of Silicene and Germanene Nanosheets Grown on Graphite

Wei

Diener

et al. 2018

ACS Nano

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“…(√3×√3)R30° one at any realistic temperature. Despite all experimental efforts, however, it is only the (√3×√3)R30° configuration that always emerges with the HOPG substrate, whereas the expected variety of different reconstructions had been observed for the Si/Ag(111) system [16,17].…”

Section: Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potentially crucial role of quasi-particle interferences for the growth of silicene on graphite

et al. 2020

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A comprehensive picture of the initial stages of silicene growth on graphite is drawn. Evidence is shown that quasiparticle interferences play a crucial role in the formation of the observed silicene configurations. We propose, on one hand, that the charge modulations caused by those quantum interferences serve as templates and guide the incoming Si atoms to self-assemble to the unique (√3×√3)R30° honeycomb atomic arrangement. On the other hand, their limited extension limits the growth to about 150 Si atoms under our present deposition conditions. The here proposed electrostatic interaction finally explains the unexpected stability of the observed silicene islands over time and with temperature. Despite the robust guiding nature of those quantum interferences during the early growth phase, we demonstrate that the window of experimental conditions for silicene growth is quite narrow, making it an extremely challenging experimental task. Finally, it is shown that the experimentally observed three-dimensional silicon clusters might very well be the simple result of the end of the silicene growth resulting from the limited extent of the quasiparticle interferences. Graphical Table of Contents Charge modulations caused by quantum interferences (QI) on graphene guide Si atoms to selfassemble to the unique (√3×√3)R30° honeycomb atomic arrangement. The limited extend of those QI leads to the experimentally observed transition from 2D to 3D growth at the outskirts of the silicene islands.

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“…Besides, it is not trivial to exclude formation of surface alloys between Si/Ge/Sn and a given metal substrate, which has even led to doubt the formation of silicene and germanene on metals. [126][127][128][129][130][131] In this context, successfully synthesizing these 2D materials on "nonmetals" would therefore represent a certain breakthrough in the field because these substrates are supposed to interact only weakly with the 2D ad-layer, hence preserving its intrinsic electronic properties. Therefore, in this review we have focused on the synthesis and characterization of silicene, germanene, and stanene on such materials.…”

Section: Outlook and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Group-IV 2D materials beyond graphene on nonmetal substrates: Challenges, recent progress, and future perspectives

Galbiati

Motta

Crescenzi

et al. 2019

Applied Physics Reviews

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The family of two-dimensional materials has been expanding rapidly over the last few years. Within it, a special place is occupied by silicene, germanene, and stanene due to their inherent compatibility with the existing semiconductor technology (notably for the case of silicene and germanene). Although obtaining them is not trivial due to the lack of layered bulk counterparts from which they could be mechanically exfoliated, they have been recently synthesized on a number of metallic substrates. The remarkable interaction between metals and these puckered materials, however, strongly modifies their intrinsic electronic properties, and also jeopardizes their integration into functional devices. In this context, first experimental efforts are now being devoted to the synthesis of silicene, germanene, and stanene on nonmetal substrates. Here, we review these pioneering works, present the ongoing debate, analyze, and discuss the major technical challenges and finally suggest possible novel solutions worth exploring.

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Formation of silicene on silver: Strong interaction between Ag and Si

Cited by 11 publications

References 84 publications

Resolving the Controversial Existence of Silicene and Germanene Nanosheets Grown on Graphite

Resolving the Controversial Existence of Silicene and Germanene Nanosheets Grown on Graphite

The potentially crucial role of quasi-particle interferences for the growth of silicene on graphite

Group-IV 2D materials beyond graphene on nonmetal substrates: Challenges, recent progress, and future perspectives

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