Determination of silver coverage on Si(111) 3×1(6×1)-Ag surfaces

Abstract

The number of silver atoms incorporated into a Si(111) 3×1(6×1)-Ag structure is determined by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Silver MNN Auger intensities from surfaces with two different compositions were compared between clean 7×7, (√3 × √3 )R30°-Ag, and 3×1(6×1)-Ag structures, which were determined from scanning tunneling microscopy images. From the AES intensity ratio and known occupancies of each reconstruction, the number of Ag atoms incorporated into the 3×1(6×1)-Ag structure was determined to be 0.36±0.16 ML. This value is close to 1/3 ML, suggesting that one of the two rows observed by STM does not consist of Ag atoms.