Layered heterostructure of planar and buckled phases of silicene

Abstract

Abstract Heterostructures made of two-dimensional (2D) materials became a topic of numerous studies due to their new and often unexpected properties. Typically, in such systems 2D structures are composed of various elements. Here, a heterostructure made of different phases of the same material is presented. Layered planar and buckled phases of silicene are prepared in a self-organization process during annealing of ultrathin layers of Au grown on Si(111) surface. Low energy electron microscopy studies show that both phases form continuous parallel layers which are twisted in respect to each other and which cover entire surface of the Au film making an ordered sheet of a size of cm 2 . Such heterostructures might be important for the development of new electronic and optoelectronic devices.