Nanofilm allotrope and phase transformation of ultrathin Bi film on Si(111)-7x7

Phys Rev Lett. 2004 Sep 3;93(10):105501. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.105501. Epub 2004 Aug 31.

Abstract

Our scanning tunneling microscopy and electron diffraction experiments revealed that a new two-dimensional allotrope of Bi forms on the Si(111)-7x7 surface. This pseudocubic [012]-oriented allotrope is stable up to four atomic layers at room temperature. Above this critical thickness, the entire volume of the film starts to transform into a bulk single-crystal (001) phase, as the bulk contribution in the cohesion becomes dominant. Based on ab initio calculations, we propose that the new allotrope consists of black phosphorus-like puckered layers stabilized by saturating all the p(z) dangling bonds in the film.