A comprehensive picture of the initial stages of silicene growth on graphite is drawn. Evidence is shown that quasiparticle interferences play a crucial role in the formation of the observed silicene configurations. We propose, on one hand, that the charge modulations caused by those quantum interferences serve as templates and guide the incoming Si atoms to self-assemble to the unique \(\left( {\sqrt 3 \times \sqrt 3 } \right)\)R30° honeycomb atomic arrangement. On the other hand, their limited extension limits the growth to about 150 Si atoms under our present deposition conditions. The here proposed electrostatic interaction finally explains the unexpected stability of the observed silicene islands over time and with temperature. Despite the robust guiding nature of those quantum interferences during the early growth phase, we demonstrate that the window of experimental conditions for silicene growth is quite narrow, making it an extremely challenging experimental task. Finally, it is shown that the experimentally observed three-dimensional silicon clusters might very well be the simple result of the end of the silicene growth resulting from the limited extent of the quasi-particle interferences.

绘制了硅在石墨上生长的初始阶段的综合图。有证据表明，准粒子干扰在观察到的硅构型的形成中起着至关重要的作用。我们一方面建议，由这些量子干扰引起的电荷调制充当模板，并引导进入的Si原子自组装为唯一的\（\ left（{\ sqrt 3 \ times \ sqrt 3} \ right） \）R30°蜂窝原子排列。另一方面，在我们目前的沉积条件下，它们的有限延伸将其生长限制为约150个Si原子。此处提出的静电相互作用最终解释了观察到的硅岛随时间和温度变化的意外稳定性。尽管在早期生长阶段这些量子干扰具有很强的指导性，但我们证明了硅生长的实验条件窗口非常狭窄，这使其成为极具挑战性的实验任务。最后，结果表明，实验观察到的三维硅团簇很可能是由于准粒子干扰程度有限而导致的硅生长结束的简单结果。