Epitaxial Growth of a Silicene Sheet

Using atomic resolved scanning tunneling microscopy, we present here the experimental evidence of a silicene sheet (graphene like structure) epitaxially grown on a close-packed silver surface (Ag(111)). This has been achieved via direct condensation of a silicon atomic flux onto the single-crystal substrate in ultra-high vacuum conditions. A highly ordered silicon structure, arranged within a honeycomb lattice is synthesized and presenting two silicon sub-lattices occupying positions at different heights (0.02 nm) indicating possible sp2-sp3 hybridizations.