Structure of one-dimensional monolayer Si nanoribbons on Ag(111)

One-dimensional silicon nanoribbons (SiNRs) have the potential for application to future electronic devices because of their compatibility with current silicon-based electronic devices and their theoretical outstanding electronic properties, such as the size-dependent band gap. Here we grew SiNRs by the deposition of Si on a Ag(111) surface. We investigated SiNRs on the Ag(111) surface using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The atomic resolution STM and AFM images revealed that SiNRs have the same width and align along the equivalent orientations of Ag(111). The main body of SiNRs was found to be symmetric about the long axes of the ribbons, but the terminals of SiNRs break the symmetry. The DFT calculation results revealed a buckled single-layer structure of SiNRs, which is composed of Si hexagonal and tetragonal rings.