Journal
PHYSICAL REVIEW B
Volume 81, Issue 8, Pages -Publisher
AMER PHYSICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.81.085411
Keywords
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Funding
- Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Science Division of the U. S. Department of Energy-USDOE
- [DE-AC02-07CH11358]
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Ag on Si(111)-7x7 was one of the first systems where height selection of metal islands was attributed to electron confinement, i.e., stabilization of selected heights through a quantum size effect (QSE). However, it has been puzzling how the requisite electron standing waves can form, because the Fermi level E-F (along the growth [111] direction) is within the gap for bulk Ag. With detailed experiments over a wide coverage and temperature range, we show that a large increase of 12% is present in the interlayer spacing within the bilayer islands. This can shift E-F below the gap, allowing electron confinement to control height selection. This conclusion is also supported by the observation of a corrugation pattern of period 3 nm on top of the Ag islands, which is bias dependent and can only be the result of QSE-generated standing waves normal to the film.
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