Photoelectron spectroscopy study of Pb/Ag(1 1 1) in the submonolayer range

The vacuum deposition of Pb onto Ag(1 1 1) gives rise to two different surface structures depending on coverage and deposition temperature. At room temperature (RT), low energy electron diffraction (LEED) reveals a sharp (3×3)R30° reconstruction completed at 1/3 Pb monolayer (ML). Beyond, a close-packed Pb(1 1 1) incommensurate overlayer develops. At low temperature (LT, ~100 K) the incommensurate structure is directly observed whatever the coverage, corresponding to the growth of close-packed two-dimensional Pb(1 1 1) islands. Synchrotron radiation Pb 5d core-level spectra clearly demonstrate that in each surface structure all Pb atoms have essentially a unique, but different, environment. This reflects the surface alloy formation between the two immiscible metals in the (3×3)R30° reconstruction and a clear signature of the de-alloying process at RT beyond 1/3 ML coverage.