Self-assembled Pt nanowires on Ge(001): Relaxation effects

Absorption of Pt on the Ge(001) surface results in stable self-organized Pt nanowires, extending over some hundred nanometers. Based on band structure calculations within density functional theory and the generalized gradient approximation, the structural relaxation of the Ge-Pt surface is investigated. The surface reconstruction pattern obtained agrees well with findings from scanning tunneling microscopy. In particular, strong Pt-Pt dimerization is characteristical for the nanowires. The surface electronic structure is significantly perturbed due to Ge-Pt interaction, which induces remarkable shifts of Ge states towards the Fermi energy. As a consequence, the topmost Ge layers are subject to a metal-insulator transition.