Spectroscopic signatures of an ordered array of independent Ag heptamers

A periodic network of Ag heptamers forms on the carburized W(1 1 0)-R(15 × 12) surface, upon deposition of sub-monolayer amounts of Ag. We investigate the electronic structure and dimensionality of this system by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The observation of very well-defined Ag 4d-levels confirms the highly ordered growth of size-selected Ag nano-particles on the W(1 1 0)-R(15 × 12) template. The absence of energy dispersion of these states indicates negligible coupling among the Ag heptamers, and points out the local character of the heptamer-substrate interaction. The system can be described as an array of Ag heptamers with fully confined Ag 4d-levels.