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 article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License