Electron-phonon interaction at the Si(111)-7 x 7 surface

It is shown that electron-phonon interaction provides a natural explanation for the unusual band dispersion of the metallic surface states at the Si(111)-(7 x 7) surface. Angle-resolved photoemission reveals a discontinuity of the adatom band at a binding energy close to the dominant surface phonon mode at h(omega0) = 70 meV. This mode has been assigned to adatom vibrations by molecular dynamics calculations. A calculation of the spectral function for electron-phonon interaction with this well-defined Einstein mode matches the data. Two independent determinations of the electron-phonon coupling parameter from the band dispersion and from the temperature-dependent phonon broadening yield similar values of lambda = 1.09 and lambda = 1.06.     

Structural analogy between GeSi(111)-5 × 5 and Si(111)-7 × 7 surfaces

Low energy electron diffraction (LEED) patterns for the GeSi(111)-5 × 5 surface are reported and compared to those for the Si(111)-7 × 7 surface. Parallels between the observed LEED patterns are explained by a structural analogy between GeSi(111)-5 × 5 and Si(111)-7 × 7 surfaces. Both the (5 × 5) and (7 × 7) patterns are shown to be consistent with structural models of the triangle-dimer type previously proposed for Si(111)-7 × 7 surface.     

Borderline magic clustering: the fabrication of tetravalent Pb cluster arrays on Si(111)-(7x7) surfaces

Well-ordered arrays of identical Pb clusters have been fabricated on a Si(111)-(7x7) substrate by the temperature-mediated surface clustering method. Interestingly, these clusters can easily transform into other forms when the growth temperature deviates slightly from the optimal values. In accord with experiments, first-principle total-energy calculations reveal several cluster structures centered on a mixed cluster model involving surface Pb and Si exchange. This borderline Pb/Si(111) system provides a unique, controlled way to study surface magic cluster formation and breakup dynamics.     

Vibrational characterization of the oxidation products on Si(111)-(7 x 7)

The oxidation products on Si(111)-(7x7) are investigated at 82 K by means of high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy. The isotope-labeled vibrational spectra with 16O2, 18O2, and 16O 18O show that, in the initial stage of the oxidation, an O2 molecule dissociates to form a metastable product with an O atom bonding on top of the Si adatom and the other inserted into the backbond. The metastable product is observed as a dark site in the topographic scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) image and can be transformed to a stable product by the STM manipulation. Our results are in good agreement with recent theoretical calculations.