Ordered 2D Structure Formed upon the Molecular Beam Epitaxy Growth of Ge on the Silicene/Ag(111) Surface

Growth of Ge by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on top of the silicene monolayer on the Ag(111) surface results in either a dispersed adlayer or a two-dimensional (2D) ordered structure depending on the silicene phase. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images show that the ordered adsorbed Ge atoms on (3 × 3) Si domains occupy a position directly on top of down atoms in the buckled silicene layer, similar to the adatom positions on the Ge(111)-c(2 × 8) surface. By contrast, no long-range ordering of Ge adatoms is observed on the domain, possibly partly because of the interference effects of the Ag substrate. Results herein suggest that the deposited Ge atoms tend to build an additional three-dimensional bulk layer on the silicene monolayer and that the growth of the 2D germanene/silicene heterostructure may not be achieved in a straightforward manner.