"Silicene on copper": monoatomic silicon surface layer with silicene-like arrangement on Cu3+xSi prepared by chemical and mechanical exfoliation

• Applicant: Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Gluch
• Subject Area: Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials
• Term: from 2015 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 267459210

A deeper understanding of the silicon analogue of graphene dubbed silicene requires methods of preparation that will allow its production in sufficient size and quality. The currently available methods fail to fulfil these requirements, and the progress of experimental research on silicene thus lags behind the progress in theory. It appears that an attractive route to production of silicene surfaces may lead through copper silicide Cu(3+x)Si, whose recently described structure contains monoatomic layers of silicon with silicene arrangement. The aim of the proposed project is finding an optimal procedure for the production of Cu(3+x)Si with respect to the size and quality of the silicon layers, and then expose the silicene surface. Copper silicide will be prepared by low-pressure CVD method and by magnetron sputtering on Si or Cu substrate. The surface will be exposed by a selective chemical etching of copper or by mechanical separation of the copper silicide layers. In this way, it will be possible to produce large monoatomic silicene-like layers on a substrate of copper clusters.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Czech Republic
• Partner Organisation: Czech Science Foundation
• Cooperation Partners: Dr. Vladislav Drinek; Dr. Lukas Palatinus
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Ehrenfried Zschech