Crossover between silicene and ultra-thin Si atomic layers on Ag(111) surfaces
Crossover between silicene and ultra-thin Si atomic layers on Ag(111) surfaces
We report on total-energy electronic structure calculations in the density-functional theory performed for the ultra-thin atomic layers of Si on Ag(111) surfaces. We find several distinct stable silicene structures: , 3 × 3, with the thickness of Si increasing from monolayer to quad-layer. The structural bistability and tristability of the …