Surface relaxations in quantum-confined Pb
- Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628CJ Delft (Netherlands)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996 (United States)
The relationship between electronic and atomic structure of quantum confined objects is a key issue in nanoscience. We performed low-energy electron diffraction to determine the surface relaxations of ultrathin Pb films on Si(111)7x7 with thicknesses ranging from four to nine atomic layers. The results indicate a contraction of the first interlayer spacing d{sub 12} for all films. The d{sub 12} contraction exhibits a small bilayer modulation as a function of thickness, indicative of a quantum size effect. The oscillatory relaxations furthermore suggest an interesting correlation with the work function oscillations predicted from density functional theory [Wei and Chou, Phys. Rev. B 66, 233408 (2002)] and can be understood qualitatively on the basis of the jellium model.
- OSTI ID:
- 20719640
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Journal Name: Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics Journal Issue: 15 Vol. 72; ISSN 1098-0121
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
First-principles study of quantum size effects in ultrathin Pb-Bi metal alloy films
Quantum stability and superconductivity of ultrathin alloy films made from from bulk immiscible elements: Pb and Ga