title: Catalystlike behavior of Si adatoms in the growth of monolayer Al film on Si(111).
abstract: The formation mechanism of monolayer Al(111)1x1 film on the Si(111) radical3x radical3-Al substrate was studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and first-principles calculations. We found that the Si adatoms on the radical3x radical3-Al substrate play important roles in the growth process. The growth of Al-1x1 islands is mediated by the formation and decomposition of SiAl(2) clusters. Based on experiments and theoretical simulations we propose a model where free Si atoms exhibit a catalystlike behavior by capturing and releasing Al atoms during the Al film growth.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.forename: Lixin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Jiandong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Qinlin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Enge
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ebert
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.forename: Kehui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wu