Degenerate electronic structure of reconstructed MnSi(1.7) nanowires on Si(001).

Higher manganese silicide nanowires have been grown on the Si(001)-2 × 1 surface by the pre-growth of Bi nanolines. Scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) observations show that the nanowire has a linear surface reconstruction with a periodicity of 0.56 nm, and we propose a reconstruction on their surface to reduce the density of dangling bonds, which forms linear structures matching the dimensions from STM. Scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) data agree with previous calculation results and reveal that the nanowires are degenerate semiconductors, with potential application for spintronics.