title: Epitaxial growth of two-dimensional stanene.
abstract: Following the first experimental realization of graphene, other ultrathin materials with unprecedented electronic properties have been explored, with particular attention given to the heavy group-IV elements Si, Ge and Sn. Two-dimensional buckled Si-based silicene has been recently realized by molecular beam epitaxy growth, whereas Ge-based germanene was obtained by molecular beam epitaxy and mechanical exfoliation. However, the synthesis of Sn-based stanene has proved challenging so far. Here, we report the successful fabrication of 2D stanene by molecular beam epitaxy, confirmed by atomic and electronic characterization using scanning tunnelling microscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, in combination with first-principles calculations. The synthesis of stanene and its derivatives will stimulate further experimental investigation of their theoretically predicted properties, such as a 2D topological insulating behaviour with a very large bandgap, and the capability to support enhanced thermoelectric performance, topological superconductivity and the near-room-temperature quantum anomalous Hall effect.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Feng-feng
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Wei-jiong
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, McCullough Building, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-4045, USA.|Department of Physics and Institute for Advanced Study, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Chun-lei
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Dan-dan
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Can-hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, McCullough Building, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-4045, USA.|Department of Physics and Institute for Advanced Study, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Shou-Cheng
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Jin-feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Jia