Abstract
We report results on the self-assembly of silicon nanoribbons (NRs) on the (2 x 1) reconstructed Au(110) surface under ultra-high vacuum conditions. Upon adsorption of 0.2 monolayer (ML) of silicon, the (2 x 1) reconstruction of Au(110) is replaced by an ordered surface alloy. Above this coverage, a new superstructure is revealed by low energy electron diffraction (LEED), which becomes sharper at 0.3 Si ML. This superstructure corresponds to Si nanoribbons all oriented along the [(1) over bar 10] direction as revealed by LEED and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). STM and high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy indicate that the nanoribbons are flat and predominantly 1.6 nm wide. In addition, the silicon atoms show signatures of two chemical environments corresponding to the edge and center of the ribbons. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4793536]