The fate of the 2sqrt3x2sqrt3R(30°) silicene phase on Ag(111)

Silicon atoms deposited on Ag(111) produce various single layer silicene sheets with
different buckling patterns and periodicities. Low temperature scanning tunneling
microscopy reveals that one of the silicene sheets, the hypothetical sqrt7 × sqrt7 silicene
structure, on 2sqrt3 × 2sqrt3 Ag(111), is inherently highly defective and displays no
long-range order. Moreover, Auger and photoelectron spectroscopy measurements
reveal its sudden death, to end, in a dynamic fating process at ~300°C. This result
clarifies the real nature of the 2sqrt3 × 2sqrt3R(30°) silicene phase and thus helps to understand
the diversity of the silicene sheets grown on Ag(111). © 2014 Author(s). All
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