Dimer Coupling Energies of the Si(001) Surface

TL;DR

This study quantifies the coupling energies between buckled dimers on the Si(001) surface by analyzing phase transition behavior using high-resolution electron diffraction and the anisotropic 2D Ising model.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurement of dimer coupling energies on Si(001) surface using a combined experimental and theoretical approach.

Findings

Coupling energies along dimer rows are approximately -24.9 meV.

Coupling energies across dimer rows are approximately -0.8 meV.

The dimers exhibit antiferromagnetic-like coupling with c(4×2) symmetry.

Abstract

The coupling energies between the buckled dimers of the Si(001) surface were determined through analysis of the anisotropic critical behavior of its order-disorder phase transition. Spot profiles in high-resolution low-energy electron diffraction as a function of temperature were analyzed within the framework of the anisotropic two-dimensional Ising model. The validity of this approach is justified by the large ratio of correlation lengths, $\xi_\parallel^+/\xi_\perp^+ = 5.2$ of the fluctuating $c(4 {\times} 2)$ domains above the critical temperature $T_\mathrm{c} = (190.6 \pm 10)$ K. We obtain effective couplings $J_\parallel = (-24.9 \pm 1.3)$ meV along the dimer rows and $J_\perp = (-0.8 \pm 0.1)$ meV across the dimer rows, i.e., antiferromagnetic-like coupling of the dimers with $c(4 {\times} 2)$ symmetry.