First steps of silicene growth on an insulating thin-film: effect of the substrate temperature

Khalid Quertite; Hanna Enriquez; Nicolas Trcera; Pierre Lagarde; Azzedine Bendounan; Andrew J. Mayne; Gérald Dujardin; Abdallah El kenz; Abdelilah Benyoussef; Abdelkader Kara; Hamid Oughaddou

doi:10.1051/epjap/2023230004

2024 Impact factor 0.9

Applied Physics

Special Issue on ‘Advances in Renewable Energies, Materials and Technology’, edited by Laurene Tetard, Hamid Oughaddou, Abdelkader Kara, Yannick Dappe and Nabil Rochdi

Open Access

Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys. 98, 41 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap/2023230004

Regular Article

First steps of silicene growth on an insulating thin-film: effect of the substrate temperature

Khalid Quertite¹^,2^,3^*, Hanna Enriquez¹, Nicolas Trcera², Pierre Lagarde², Azzedine Bendounan², Andrew J. Mayne¹, Gérald Dujardin¹, Abdallah El kenz³, Abdelilah Benyoussef³^,4, Abdelkader Kara⁵ and Hamid Oughaddou¹^,6

¹ Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay, ISMO-CNRS, Bât. 520, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
² Synchrotron Soleil, L'Orme des Merisiers Saint-Aubin, B.P. 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
³ LaMCScI, Faculté des Sciences, Université Mohammed V − Agdal, 10100 Rabat, Morocco
⁴ Hassan II Academy of Sciences and Technology, Rabat, Morocco
⁵ Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
⁶ Département de Physique, CY, Université Cergy-Pontoise, 95031 Cergy-Pontoise Cedex, France

^* e-mail: khalid.quertite@gmail.com

Received: 4 January 2023
Revised: 24 March 2023
Accepted: 12 April 2023
Published online: 13 June 2023

Abstract

Silicene is a two-dimensional (2D) material with very promising electronic properties for applications in silicon modern technology. However, the first experimental synthesis of silicene on metallic surfaces shows strong interactions between the silicene and its substrate, which can alter its electronic properties. Here, we report on the first steps of silicene growth on an insulating surface (NaCl) using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). We demonstrate the importance of temperature annealing in the growth of silicene on NaCl. Indeed, after deposition of silicon on the NaCl/Ag(110) surface, we observe the following stages: (i) at room temperature, the silicon atoms accumulate on top of the NaCl layer without any given order. (ii) At 60 °C, silicon dimers start to grow on the NaCl. (iii) At 140 °C, these dimers form a 2D silicon chains on the surface. (iv) After a post-annealing at 200 °C, evident 2D silicon nanoribbons with a honeycomb-like structure were observed. Our results of the first silicene growth stages on an insulating surface are a necessary step for exploring its growth mechanism further.

© K. Quertite et al., Published by EDP Sciences, 2023

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