Quasiperiodic gallium adlayer on i-Al-Pd-Mn

Abstract

Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), and density functional theory (DFT), we demonstrate the formation of quasicrystalline gallium adlayer on icosahedral ($i$)-Al-Pd-Mn. Quasiperiodic motifs are evident in the STM topography images, including the Ga white flower (GaWF) and $\tau$ inflated GaWF ($\tau$-GaWF), where $\tau$ is the golden mean. A larger and more complicated ring motif is also identified, comprised of a bright center and an outer ring of pentagons. The fast Fourier transform of the STM images exhibits distinct quasiperiodic spots, thereby establishing quasiperiodicity on a length scale of $\sim$350 nm. Based on our DFT calculations, the preferred adsorption sites of Ga on i-Al-Pd-Mn are determined to be either the Mn atoms at the center of the Penrose P1 tile or the vertices of the P1 tile containing Pd atoms at the center of a cluster of 5 Al atoms (5-Al). The GaWF motif is modeled by an inner 6 atom Ga cluster (6-Ga) around the central Mn atom and an outer ring of 5 Ga atoms adsorbed at the centers of the 5-Al clusters, both having pentagonal symmetry. The $\tau$-GaWF motif is modeled by the 6-Ga arranged on the $\tau$-P1 tiling, while the ring motif is modeled by Ga atoms adsorbed at the center of 5-Al clusters above a Pd atom. The side lengths and diameters of the GaWF, $\tau$-GaWF, and the ring motifs are $\tau$ scaled and show excellent agreement with the DFT-based models. An additional indication of the quasiperiodic characteristics of the Ga monolayer is the 5-fold LEED patterns that were detected throughout the entire range of beam energy that was measured.