Growth of Atomically Flat Ultra-Thin Ag Films on Si（111） by Introducing a √3×√3-Ga Buffer Layer

Growth of high-quality ultra-thin Ag film is of great interest from both scientific and technological viewpoints. First, ultra-thin metal fihns are model systems utilized to investigate quantum size effects （QSE）. When the film thickness is comparable to the Fermi wavelength of an electron, quantized energy lev- els known as quantum well states are produced in the surface normal direction. High-quality metal films with uniform thickness can effectively suppress in- homogeneous broadening of the thickness-dependent quantum levels to manifest quantum size effects. Secondly, Ag is the most widely used material for sur- face plasmonic devices, and high-quality Ag films have already shown the capability of supporting surface plasmon propagation fbr an extremely long distance. Moreover, ultra-thin Ag films can act as an excel- lent substrate for integrating various nano and low- dimensional structures. For instance, silicene, which is a two-dimensional （2D） sheet composed of silicon similar to graphene, has recently attracted intense attention. Ag （111） surface is widely recognized as the most important substrate suitable for the growth of silicene, while Ag films are much more cost-effective candidates for expensive single crystal Ag（111） sub- strates.