Fabrication of fe nanoparticle assemblies on Au(111) with xe buffer layer and low temperature growth

Growth of Fe nanoparticle assemblies on Au(111) herringbone surface is systematically studied by scanning tunneling microscope (STM) through the variation of (1) deposition coverage, (2) substrate temperature, (3) Xe buffer layer assisted growth (BLAG), and (4) nucleation seed effect. 0.09-0.18ML Fe deposited at 230-250K results in regular nanoparticle arrays, which can serve as templates with wellordered nucleation sites for subsequent growth. BLAG and 90K growth lead to the multi-layer height nanoparticles. Combination of Xe buffer layer and nucleation seeds is demonstrated to be a new method for the nanoparticle growth on nano-patterned template, maintaining the three-dimensional shape and ordering without lateral percolation.