Physics of Silicene Stripes

• DOI: 10.1007/s10948-008-0427-8
• Publication Date: 2009-01-07T15:26:45Z
• Authors: A. Kara; C. Léandri; M. E. Dávila; P. De Padova; B. Ealet; H. Oughaddou; B. Aufray; G. Le Lay
• Keywords: Superconductivity; NANOTUBES; FOS: Physical sciences; Condensed Matter; 02 engineering and technology; NANOWIRES; FILMS; 01 natural sciences; CARBON; MOLECULES; 0103 physical sciences; Stripes; Condensed Matter - Materials Science; Physics; Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci); AG; INTERFACE; GAS; Applied; Silicene; Graphene; 0210 nano-technology

Silicene, a monolayer of silicon atoms tightly packed into a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice, is the challenging hypothetical reflection in the silicon realm of graphene, a one-atom thick graphite sheet, presently the hottest material in condensed matter physics. If existing, it would also reveal a cornucopia of new physics and potential applications. Here, we reveal the epitaxial growth of silicene stripes self-aligned in a massively parallel array on the anisotropic silver (110) surface. This crucial step in the silicene gold rush could give a new kick to silicon on the electronics road-map and opens the most promising route towards wide-ranging applications. A hint of superconductivity in these silicene stripes poses intriguing questions related to the delicate interplay between paired correlated fermions, massless Dirac fermions and bosonic quasi-particules in low dimensions.