Observation of a metallic ground state of Sn/Ge (111) -3×3 at 4 K

The Sn/Ge (111) -3×3 surface was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) at low temperature, for which a triangular Mott-Hubbard ground state was suggested recently. Our detailed STM/STS observation at 77 K combined with ab initio calculations unambiguously determines its atomic structure as the one-up two-down model with one third of Sn adatoms lifted upward from the flat 3×3 layer. The surface is metallic due to the partially filled dangling bonds on the down adatoms. On cooling down to 4 K, another 3×3 phase with a distinct but still metallic electronic structure was observed. The Mott-Hubbard ground state with an undistorted 3×3 structure is denied.