Eur. Phys. J. D (2017) 71: 186
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2017-80066-1

Regular Article

Size dependence of thermal stability of Pt clusters bound to Si substrate surface prepared by cluster impact deposition^*

¹ East Tokyo Laboratory, Genesis Research Institute, Inc., 717-86 Futamata, Ichikawa, 272-0001 Chiba, Japan
² Cluster Research Laboratory, Toyota Technological Institute: In East Tokyo Laboratory, Genesis Research Institute, Inc., 717-86 Futamata, Ichikawa, 272-0001 Chiba, Japan

^a e-mail: yasumatsu@clusterlab.jp

Received: 31 January 2017
Received in final form: 6 April 2017
Published online: 6 July 2017

Abstract

Thermal behavior of Pt₁₀ and Pt₁ bound to a silicon substrate prepared by the impact of size-selected Pt cluster ions at 1 eV per Pt atom was investigated. Their height and diameter were obtained by statistical analysis of their images using scanning-tunneling microscopy. The Pt₁₀ are stably bound to the Si surface as monatomic-layered Pt₁₀Si_x disks with insertion of Si atoms into the clusters at the moment of the impact, and they start to be decomposed between 623 and 673 K under vacuum conditions. The thermal stability of the Pt₁₀Si_x disks is comparable to that of a Pt thin film prepared on a Si substrate, but inferior to that of Pt₃₀ disks on the Si substrate. Comparing with thermal behavior of Pt atoms and a PtSi thin film on the Si substrate, it has been concluded that more Si atoms start to diffuse into a Pt₁₀Si_x disk between 623 and 673 K, while they do not into a Pt₃₀ disk having a close-packed arrangement of the Pt atoms as high as 673 K, owing to a higher barrier for the Si insertion into the close-packed cluster disk than into the Pt₁₀Si_x disk having a longer Pt-Pt internuclear distance.