Electronic structure of Ag-induced atomic wires on Si(5 5 7) investigated by STS and angle-resolved photoemission

One-dimensional (1D) superstructures on the Si(5 5 7) surface induced by Ag adsorption have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) and angle-resolved photoemission. The deposition of ∼0.3 ML of Ag at 450–620 °C yields three different kinds of 1D structures along step edges. These structures form domains of different morphology, whose areal ratio depends on the growth temperature. They commonly share a characteristic atomic-scale wire structure with a ×2 periodicity. These structures are insulating with a band gap of about 0.5 eV as revealed by STS and confirmed consistently by angle-resolved photoemission, in clear contrast to the very recent inverse photoemission result (Phys. Rev. B 77 (2008) 125419).