New Alloy of an Al-Chalcogen System: AlSe Surface Alloys on Al(111)

• Published in: ACS omega Vol. 7; no. 49; pp. 45174 - 45180
• Main Authors: Shao, Enze, Liu, Kai, Xie, Hao, Geng, Kaiqi, Bai, Keke, Qiu, Jinglan, Wang, Jing, Wang, Wen-Xiao, Song, Juntao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 13.12.2022
• ISSN: 2470-1343; 2470-1343
• DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c05606

Metal chalcogenides are a promising material for novel physical research and nanoelectronic device applications. Here, we systematically investigate the crystal structure and electronic properties of AlSe alloys on Al(111) using scanning tunneling microscopy, angle-resolved photoelectron spectrometry, and first-principle calculations. We reveal that the AlSe surface alloy possesses a closed-packed atomic structure. The AlSe surface alloy comprises two atomic sublayers (Se sublayer and Al sublayer) with a height difference of 1.16 Å. Our results indicate that the AlSe alloy hosts two hole-like bands, which are mainly derived from the in-plane orbital of AlSe (p x and p y ). These two bands located at about −2.22 ±0.01 eV around the Gamma point, far below the Fermi level, distinguished from other metal chalcogenides and binary alloys. AlSe alloys have the advantages of large-scale atomic flat terraces and a wide band gap, appropriate to serve as an interface layer for two-dimensional materials. Meanwhile, our results provide implications for related Al-chalcogen interfaces.