Magnetotransport in anisotropic Pb films and monolayers

The anisotropy induced by atomic steps of a Si(557) substrate in structure and magnetoconductance of ultrathin Pb films adsorbed on this surface is shown to be effectively shielded as a function of layer thickness, as found out by a combined study of low-energy electron diffraction and macroscopic four-point conductivity measurements as a function of Pb coverage, temperature, and magnetic field. In strong contrast to flat Si(111), substrate steps effectively compensate the lateral misfit (10%), leading to crystalline growth starting from the first monolayer. Multilayers already exceeding four physical monolayers (PML) form isotropic and percolated Pb islands even on this uniaxial surface. This structural anisotropy corresponds well to that found in dc conductivity measurements. As a function of temperature, strong localization effects with clear anisotropy become dominant for coverages below 4 PML. Strong anisotropic magnetotransport was found for Pb-wetting layers close to completion of the physical monolayer caused by an enhanced elastic scattering rate in the direction perpendicular to the step direction. While multilayers are characterized by weak localization, antilocalization is found for all monolayer structures due to strong spin-orbit coupling, which is effectively switched off around 1.3 ML (1 PML) below 78 K, where one-dimensional transport was seen along the step direction. © 2010 The American Physical Society.DF