Novel growth of Ag islands on Si(III): Plateaus with a singular height

Growth and transport properties of thin Ag films on Si(lll) are investigate d by scanning tunneling microscopy and in situ resistivity measurements. At low coverage, the Ag adatoms form isolated islands with a strongly preferr ed height and flat tops, rather than commonly observed pyramids. Such plate aus increase their lateral extent with coverage without changing height, fo rming a percolated network with sharply reduced resistivity above a critica l coverage. This behavior suggests how the quantized electrons confined in the Ag islands could influence the growth, and may provide a unique pathway to prepare nanometer-scale structures with intriguing mesoscopic propertie s. [S0031-9007(98)08044-2].