Abstract
Quantum well states in thin metal films are strongly influenced by the electronic and geometric structure of the underlying substrate. This impedes a comparison to ab initio calculations generally based on free-standing films. Here we show that Pb films deposited on single-crystalline, epitaxial graphite are an excellent approximation to free-standing metal films. We find Pb islands of four monolayer height to be most stable, followed by other even-numbered islands, in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions for the formation of preferred island heights.
- Received 13 February 2007
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.75.161401
©2007 American Physical Society