Effects of atomic corrugations on electronic structures in Pb1−x Bi x thin films

Abstract

We carried out experimental investigations of the geometric effect on the electronic behavior in Pb1−x Bi x thin films by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. Single crystal monolayer Pb0.74Bi0.26 and two-monolayer Pb0.75Bi0.25 Pb1−x Bi x thin films were fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy, where large surface corrugations were observed. Combined with tunneling spectroscopic measurements, it is found that atomic corrugations can widely change the electronic behaviors. These findings show that the Pb1−x Bi x system can be a promising platform to further explore geometry-decorated electronic behavior in two-dimensional metallic thin films.