Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2019) 134: 70
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2019-12461-1

Regular Article

Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy study of In/In₄Se₃ (100) nanosystem^⋆

¹ Electronics and Computer Technology Department, Ivan Franko Lviv National University, 50 Dragomanov Street, 79005, Lviv, Ukraine
² Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Wrocław, pl. Maxa Borna 9, 50-204, Wrocław, Poland

^* e-mail: galiy@electronics.lnu.edu.ua

Received: 20 April 2018
Accepted: 10 December 2018
Published online: 19 February 2019

Abstract

The present paper provides the results of structural studies concerning formation of self-assembled indium deposited nanostructures on the (100) surface of In₄Se₃ layered semiconductor. We used to study growth orientation of indium-induced nanostructures exploiting small rates and low times of indium deposition by scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STM). We carry out our studies using In₄Se₃ crystals grown with rather different concentrations of the over-stoichiometric indium in the melt. It has been established that shape of subsequent indium-deposited nanostructures varies from 3D islands, in the case of low-indium-doped crystals, to elongated nanowires, for highly doped ones. Based on a high-resolution STM study, we show that self-assembled quasi-periodical nanowires are oriented along the c -axis of (100) In₄Se₃ surface. The observed nanostructures have metallic origin as it was acquired by the current imaging tunneling spectroscopy (CITS) studies. We considered that formation of different-shaped indium-deposited nanostructures is powered by concentration of indium nuclei on furrowed (100) In₄Se₃ surface, which is modulated by the degree of the over-stoichiometric indium during crystal growth subsequently intercalated into the interlayer gap.