Xe bubbles in Si observed by extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure spectroscopy

Chemisorption Competition between H2O and H2 for Sites on the Si Surface under Xe+ Ion Bombardment: An XPS Study

This paper reports the competition of H₂O (residual) and H₂ by site (defects) on the Si surface, created by Xe⁺ ion bombardment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in an ultrahigh vacuum system attached to the sample preparation chamber provided the data for the analyses. As hydrogen cannot be detected by XPS, an indirect method to evaluate the O and H cover ratio was developed. The hydrogen passivation effect obtained by the formation of the Si-H bond due to H₂ chemisorption limits Si-OH and Si-O-Si bonds, which are products of H₂O dissociation. In addition, the results have shown that Xe⁺ ion bombardment diminished the H₂ chemisorption energy barrier onto Si.

Evidence for Germanene growth on epitaxial hexagonal (h)-AlN on Ag(1 1 1)

In this work, a structural analysis of Ge layers deposited by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Ag(1 1 1) surfaces with and without an AlN buffer layer have been investigated by x-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) at the Ge-K edge. For the Ge layers deposited on h-AlN buffer layer on Ag(1 1 1) an interatomic Ge-Ge distance [Formula: see text] Å is found, typical of 2-Dimensional Ge layers and in agreement with the theoretical predictions for free standing low-buckled Germanene presented in literature. First principles calculations, performed in the density functional theory (DFT) framework, supported the experimental RHEED and XAS findings, providing evidence for the epitaxial 2-D Ge layer formation on h-AlN/Ag(1 1 1) template.

Interface-induced ordering of gas molecules confined in a small space

The thermodynamic properties of gases have been understood primarily through phase diagrams of bulk gases. However, observations of gases confined in a nanometer space have posed a challenge to the principles of classical thermodynamics. Here, we investigated interfacial structures comprising either O₂ or N₂ between water and a hydrophobic solid surface by using advanced atomic force microscopy techniques. Ordered epitaxial layers and cap-shaped nanostructures were observed. In addition, pancake-shaped disordered layers that had grown on top of the epitaxial base layers were observed in oxygen-supersaturated water. We propose that hydrophobic solid surfaces provide low-chemical-potential sites at which gas molecules dissolved in water can be adsorbed. The structures are further stabilized by interfacial water. Here we show that gas molecules can agglomerate into a condensed form when confined in a sufficiently small space under ambient conditions. The crystalline solid surface may even induce a solid-gas state when the gas-substrate interaction is significantly stronger than the gas-gas interaction. The ordering and thermodynamic properties of the confined gases are determined primarily according to interfacial interactions.