The role of the Si(111)-(4 x 1)-In surface as an atomic-scale geometrical template for the growth of Ag thin films was clarified by scanning tunnelling microscopy and low-energy electron diffraction. Low-temperature grown Ag films were found to have stripe structures with a transverse periodicity equal to that of indium chains of the Si(111)-(4 x 1)-In. The stripes exhibited a structural transformation at the thickness of 6ML; this relaxation allows the stripes to persist up to a thickness as large as 30ML (≈7nm) while maintaining their mean periodicity. This stability was attributed to a coincidental matching of the periodicity, and the corrugation amplitude between the Ag film and the substrate, which was realized by periodic insertion of stacking faults into a Ag fcc crystal.

One-Dimensional Surface Reconstruction as an Atomic-Scale Template for the Growth of Periodically Striped Ag Films. T.Uchihashi, C.Ohbuchi, S.Tsukamoto, T.Nakayama: Physical Review Letters, 2006, 96[13], 136104 (4pp)