Interaction between electronic structure and strain in Bi nanolines on Si(001)

Abstract

Heteroepitaxial strain can be a controlling factor in the lateral dimensions of 1-D nanostructures. Bi nanolines on Si(001) have an atomic structure which involves a large sub-surface reconstruction, resulting in a strong elastic coupling to the surrounding silicon. We present variable-bias STM and first principles electronic structure calculations of the Bi nanolines, which investigates this interaction. We show that the strain associated with the nanolines affects the atomic and electronic structure of at least two neighbouring Si dimers, and identify the mechanism behind this. We also present partial charge densities (projected by energy) for the nanoline with clean and hydrogenated surroundings and contrast it to the clean Si(001) surface.