Quantum-size effects in the electronic structure of low-dimensional metallic systems

By angle-resolved photoemission the electronic structure of quantum films of Mg, Ag, and Au has been compared on W(110) and Mo(110) substrates which are structurally and electronically very similar but differ in atomic number. In all cases, substrate-induced states with characteristic dispersions are observed in the region of a bulk band gap of the substrate. Based on the comparison between Mo and W, we can exclude that previously observed Mg states are spin-orbit split but observe a spin-orbit splitting in Ag and Au monolayers. This splitting is mainly caused by the substrate because it does not differ much between Ag and Au overlayers despite the large difference in atomic number.