This study reports the fabrication of artificial molecules composed of lead (Pb) atoms on a van der Waals crystal, specifically the honeycomb charge-order superstructure of IrTe2. Pb atoms form clusters ranging from dimers to heptamers, including benzene-shaped hexamers. Tunneling spectroscopy and electronic structure calculations reveal the formation of unusual relativistic molecular orbitals within these clusters. Spin-orbit coupling is crucial for the formation of Dirac electronic states and stabilizes the artificial molecules by reducing adatom-substrate interaction. Lead atoms are shown to be particularly suitable for maximizing the relativistic effect. This work demonstrates a novel approach to fabricating artificial molecules with unique properties using two-dimensional orderings as templates.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Feb 10, 2020
Authors
Jae Whan Park, Hyo Sung Kim, Thomas Brumme, Thomas Heine, Han Woong Yeom
Tags
artificial molecules
lead atoms
relativistic molecular orbitals
van der Waals crystal
tunneling spectroscopy
Dirac electronic states
two-dimensional orderings
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