Creation of an atomic superlattice by immersing metallic adatoms in a two-dimensional electron sea.
Cerium adatoms, deposited on a Ag(111) surface, are found by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy to self-assemble into large ordered hexagonal arrays covering macroscopically the entire surface. We show that the 32 A periodicity of the superlattice is caused by the interaction of surface-state electrons with Ce adatoms and that the large-scale formation of the superlattice is governed by a subtle balance between the sample temperature, the surface diffusion barrier, and the concentration-dependent adatom interaction potential.
Silly
Fabien
F
Institut de Physique des Nanostructures, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Pivetta
Marina
M
Ternes
Markus
M
Patthey
François
F
Pelz
Jonathan P
JP
Schneider
Wolf-Dieter
WD