Epitaxial growth of insulating and superconducting monolayers of (BETS)₂GaCl₄ on Ag(111)

The ability to fabricate crystalline monolayers of confined superconducting or magnetic condensate on surfaces is a key issue to realize new functionalities and understand the nature of competing orders in their phase diagram at the nanoscale. Herein, we outline a reliable method to pattern a monolayer of superconducting islands and Kagome lattice of (BETS)₂GaCl₄ (where BETS=bis(ethylenedithio) tetraselenafulvalene) on Ag(111). At a deposition temperature of 125K, (BETS)₂GaCl₄ dimers form Kagome lattice with a pore size of 1.2nm, making it possible to encapsulate small molecules within the nanoporous network. When deposited at 300K, the molecules retain their superconducting structure and minimize substrate interaction by aligning their long molecular axis perpendicular to the substrate. These results provide guidelines for facile controllable fabrications of epitaxial superconducting and/or magnetic confined condensates on metal surfaces.