A perfect wetting of Mg monolayer on Ag(111) under atomic scale investigation: first principles calculations, scanning tunneling microscopy and Auger spectroscopy

Amani Migaou (1) , Brice Sarpi (2) , Mathilde Guiltat (1) , Kevin Payen (1) , Rachid Daineche (2) , Georges Landa (1) , Sébastien Vizzini (2) , Anne Hémeryck (1)

1 LAAS-M3 - Équipe Modélisation Multi-niveaux des Matériaux
2 IM2NP - Institut des Matériaux, de Microélectronique et des Nanosciences de Provence

First principles calculations, scanning tunneling microscopy, and Auger spectroscopy experiments of the adsorption of Mg on Ag(111) substrate are conducted. This detailed study reveals that an atomic scale controlled deposition of a metallic Mg monolayer perfectly wets the silver substrate without any alloy formation at the interface at room temperature. A liquid-like behavior of the Mg species on the Ag substrate is highlighted as no dot formation is observed when coverage increases. Finally a layer-by-layer growth mode of Mg on Ag(111) can be predicted, thanks to density functional theory calculations as observed experimentally.

Domaines: Matériaux; Chimie théorique et/ou physique; Cristallographie; Génie des procédés; Matériaux; Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique

Amani Migaou, Brice Sarpi, Mathilde Guiltat, Kevin Payen, Rachid Daineche, et al.. A perfect wetting of Mg monolayer on Ag(111) under atomic scale investigation: first principles calculations, scanning tunneling microscopy and Auger spectroscopy. Journal of Chemical Physics, 2016, 144 (19), pp.194708. ⟨10.1063/1.4949764⟩. ⟨hal-01407766⟩