title: Electronically decoupled stacking fault tetrahedra embedded in Au(111) films.
abstract: Stacking faults are known as defective structures in crystalline materials that typically lower the structural quality of the material. Here, we show that a particular type of defect, that is, stacking fault tetrahedra (SFTs), exhibits pronounced quantized electronic behaviour, revealing a potential synthetic route to decoupled nanoparticles in metal films. We report on the electronic properties of SFTs that exist in Au(111) films, as evidenced by scanning tunnelling microscopy and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. We find that the SFTs reveal a remarkable decoupling from their metal surroundings, leading to pronounced energy level quantization effects within the SFTs. The electronic behaviour of the SFTs can be described well by the particle-in-a-box model. Our findings demonstrate that controlled preparation of SFTs may offer an alternative way to achieve well-decoupled nanoparticles of high crystalline quality in metal thin films without the need of thin insulating layers.
authors.affiliation: Solid-State Physics and Magnetism Section, KU Leuven, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schouteden
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, BE-2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Behnam
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Amin-Ahmadi
authors.affiliation: Solid-State Physics and Magnetism Section, KU Leuven, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physics, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Muzychenko
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, BE-2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schryvers
authors.affiliation: Solid-State Physics and Magnetism Section, KU Leuven, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Van Haesendonck