Strong interactions present in single-layer RbI grown on metal surfaces have been shown to result in the surprising coexistence of bistable RbI structures. However, it is not well known how these structural differences affect the electronic behavior of the RbI film. Here, we use scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) to probe the image potential electronic states (IPSs) of the RbI/Ag(111) system, which are known to be highly sensitive to the electronic properties of ultrathin insulating films. By comparing our experimental STS measurements to first-principles numerical simulations of the IPSs, we calculate the work function, dielectric constant, and conduction band energy for the two distinct structure types of RbI on Ag(111). In addition, our results show that local variations in the IPS behavior, evident in both a moiré pattern and grain boundary defects, can be attributed to electrostatic potentials present in the RbI structure.

中文翻译：

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探究Ag(111)上双稳态单层RbI结构的电子结构

金属表面生长的单层 RbI 中存在的强相互作用已被证明可以导致双稳态 RbI 结构令人惊讶的共存。然而，这些结构差异如何影响 RbI 薄膜的电子行为尚不清楚。在这里，我们使用扫描隧道显微镜/光谱学（STM/STS）来探测RbI/Ag（111）系统的图像势电子态（IPS），该系统已知对超薄绝缘膜的电子特性高度敏感。通过将我们的实验 STS 测量结果与 IPS 的第一原理数值模拟进行比较，我们计算了 Ag(111) 上 RbI 的两种不同结构类型的功函数、介电常数和导带能量。此外，我们的结果表明，莫尔图案和晶界缺陷中明显存在的 IPS 行为的局部变化可归因于 RbI 结构中存在的静电势。