The growth of bismuth on Bi2Se3 and the stability of the first bilayer

Bi(0001) films with thicknesses up to several bilayers (BLs) are grown on Se-terminated Bi2Se3(0001) surfaces, and low energy electron diffraction (LEED), low energy ion scattering (LEIS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to investigate the surface composition, topography and atomic structure. For a single deposited Bi BL, the lattice constant matches that of the substrate and the Bi atoms adjacent to the uppermost Se atoms are located at fcc-like sites. When a 2nd Bi bilayer is deposited, it is incommensurate with the substrate. As the thickness of the deposited Bi film increases further, the lattice parameter evolves to that of bulk Bi(0001). After annealing a multiple BL film at 120 °C, the first commensurate Bi BL remains intact, but the additional BLs aggregate to form thicker islands of Bi. These results show that a single Bi BL on Bi2Se3 is a particularly stable structure. After annealing to 490 °C, all of the excess Bi desorbs and the Se-terminated Bi2Se3 surface is restored.