X-ray spectroscopy reveals high symmetry and electronic shell structure of transition-metal-doped silicon clusters
- Institut fuer Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universitaet Berlin, EW 3-1, Hardenbergstrasse 36, D-10623 Berlin (Germany)
Size-selected cationic transition-metal-doped silicon clusters have been studied with x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the transition-metal L{sub 2,3} edges to investigate the local electronic structure of the dopant atoms. For VSi{sub 16}{sup +}, the x-ray absorption spectrum is dominated by sharp transitions which directly reveal the formation of a highly symmetric silicon cage around the vanadium atom. In spite of their different number of valence electrons, a nearly identical local electronic structure is found for the dopant atoms in TiSi{sub 16}{sup +}, VSi{sub 16}{sup +}, and CrSi{sub 16}{sup +}. This indicates strongly interlinked electronic and geometric properties: while the transition-metal atom imposes a geometric rearrangement on the silicon cluster, the interaction with the highly symmetric silicon cage determines the local electronic structure of the transition-metal dopant.
- OSTI ID:
- 21304699
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. A, Vol. 79, Issue 5; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.79.053201; (c) 2009 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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