title: On the feasibility of silicene encapsulation by AlN deposited using an atomic layer deposition process.
abstract: Since epitaxial silicene is not chemically inert under ambient conditions, its application in devices and the ex-situ characterization outside of ultrahigh vacuum environments require the use of an insulating capping layer. Here, we report on a study of the feasibility of encapsulating epitaxial silicene on ZrB2(0001) thin films grown on Si(111) substrates by aluminum nitride (AlN) deposited using trimethylaluminum (TMA) and ammonia (NH3) precursors. By in-situ high-resolution core-level photoelectron spectroscopy, the chemical modifications of the surface due to subsequent exposure to TMA and NH3 molecules, at temperatures of 300 °C and 400 °C, respectively, have been investigated. While an AlN-related layer can indeed be grown, silicene reacts strongly with both precursor molecules resulting in the formation of Si-C and Si-N bonds such that the use of these precursors does not allow for the protective AlN encapsulation that leaves the electronic properties of silicene intact.
authors: MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Van Bui
authors: MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
authors: F B
authors: FB
authors: Wiggers
authors: School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292, Japan.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Friedlein
authors: School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292, Japan.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Yamada-Takamura
authors: MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
authors: A Y
authors: AY
authors: Kovalgin
authors: MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
authors: M P
authors: MP
authors: de Jong