Structure determination of ultra-flat stanene on Cu(111) using low energy electron diffraction

The 2D hexagonal structure of tin atoms which is termed stanene is structurally determined on a Cu(111) substrate using low energy electron diffraction (LEED). The structural analysis of Cu{111}-p(2 × 2)-Sn at a coverage of 0.5 at low temperature reveals the relaxation of underlying Cu atoms, which stabilizes the formation of almost zero-buckled Sn atoms forming a honeycomb structure. Our results using quantitative LEED conclusively reveals an ultra-flat stanene structure that complements well with the previous calculations. The detailed structural analysis presented in this article is expected to give in-depth information for characterizing the properties of as-grown stanene.