Graphene-like silicon nanoribbons on Ag(110): A possible formation of silicene

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and ab initio calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) were used to study the self-aligned silicon nanoribbons on Ag(110) with honeycomb, graphene-like structure. The silicon honeycombs structure on top of the silver substrate is clearly observed by STM, while the DFT calculations confirm that the Si atoms adopt spontaneously this new silicon structure.