English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

It has been a long-standing puzzle why buckled dimers of the Si(001) surfaceappeared symmetric below 20 K in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)experiments. Although such symmetric dimer images were concluded to be due toan artifact induced by STM measurements, its underlying mechanism is stillveiled. Here,we demonstrate, based on a first-principles density-functionaltheory calculation, that the symmetric dimer images are originated from theflip-flop motion of buckled dimers, driven by quantum tunneling (QT). It isrevealed that at low temperature the tunneling-induced surface charging withholes reduces the energy barrier for the flipping of buckled dimers, therebygiving rise to a sizable QT-driven frequency of the flip-flop motion. However,such a QT phenomenon becomes marginal in the tunneling-induced surface chargingwith electrons. Our findings provide an explanation for low-temperature STMdata that exhibits apparent symmetric (buckled) dimer structure in thefilled-state (empty-state) images.

Origin of Symmetric Dimer Images of Si(001) Observed in Low-Temperature STM