The growth of bismuth on Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ and the stability of the first bilayer

Abstract

Bi(0001) films with thicknesses up to several bilayers (BLs) are grown on Se-terminated Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$(0001) surfaces, and low energy electron diffraction (LEED), low energy ion scattering (LEIS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to investigate the surface composition, topography and atomic structure. For a single deposited Bi BL, the lattice constant matches that of the substrate and the Bi atoms adjacent to the uppermost Se atoms are located at fcc-like sites. When a 2nd Bi bilayer is deposited, it is incommensurate with the substrate. As the thickness of the deposited Bi film increases further, the lattice parameter evolves to that of bulk Bi(0001). After annealing a multiple BL film at 120°C, the first commensurate Bi BL remains intact, but the additional BLs aggregate to form thicker islands of Bi. These results show that a single Bi BL on Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ is a particularly stable structure. After annealing to 490°C, all of the excess Bi desorbs and the Se-terminated Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ surface is restored.

36 pages, 9 figures

References in corpus (11)

• Discovery (theoretical prediction and experimental observation) of a large-gap topological-insulator class with spin-polarized single-Dirac-cone on the surface
• Quantum Spin Hall Effect and Enhanced Magnetic Response by Spin-Orbit Coupling
• One-dimensional Topological Edge States of Bismuth Bilayers
• Quasiparticle Dynamics in Reshaped Helical Dirac Cone of Topological Insulators
• Creation of Helical Dirac Fermions by Interfacing Two Gapped Systems of Ordinary Fermions
• Engineering electronic structure of a 2D topological insulator Bi(111) bilayer on Sb nanofilms by quantum confinement effect
• Intra- and Interband Electron Scattering in the Complex Hybrid Topological Insulator Bismuth Bilayer on Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$
• Termination of Single Crystal Bi2Se3 Surfaces Prepared by Various Methods
• Preparation of clean surfaces and Se vacancy formation in Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ by ion bombardment and annealing
• Spatial Distribution of Topological Surface State Electrons in Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$ Probed by Low Energy Na${}^{+}$ Ion Scattering
• Spatial Distribution of Topological Surface State Electrons in Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ Probed by Na${}^{+}$ Low Energy Ion Scattering

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Prediction of giant and ideal Rashba-type splitting in ordered alloy monolayers grown on a polar surface