Epitaxial Silicene

The epitaxial silicene layer still shows the properties expected of a two-dimensional (2D) system, which are, however, modified with respect to the ones of free-standing silicene. The synthesis of epitaxial silicene on Ag (111) is usually performed in two steps, involving the preparation of the smooth substrate surface, followed by the Si deposition and the 2D layer formation. Epitaxial growth of silicene begins with the selection of the substrate material, its orientation and finally its proper preparation. The crystalline quality of the 2D adlayer will strongly depend on the surface quality of the substrate. The electronic properties of any crystalline material strongly depend on the atomic arrangement and bonding configuration of its lattice, which also accounts for 2D crystalline materials such as silicene.