Adsorption of silicon on Au(110): an ordered two dimensional surface alloy

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the formation of a highly ordered two-dimensional silicon-gold surface alloy on Au(110) using experimental techniques and ab initio calculations, revealing stable alloy structures after silicon deposition.

Contribution

It provides experimental and theoretical evidence for the formation and stability of a two-dimensional Si/Au(110) surface alloy, a novel surface structure.

Findings

Ordered and stable Si-Au surface alloy observed

Surface alloy formed after sub-monolayer silicon deposition

Combination of experimental and computational methods used

Abstract

We report on experimental evidence for the formation of a two dimensional Si/Au(110) surface alloy. In this study, we have used a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy, low energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations based on density functional theory. A highly ordered and stable Si-Au surface alloy is observed subsequent to growth of a sub-monolayer of silicon on an Au(110) substrate kept above the eutectic temperature.