A bismuth triiodide monosheet on Bi(2)Se(3)(0001)

A stable BiI(3) monosheet has been grown for the first time on the (0001) surface of the topological insulator Bi(2)Se(3) as confirmed by scanning tunnelling microscopy, surface X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoemision spectroscopy. BiI(3) is deposited by molecular beam epitaxy from the crystalline BiTeI precursor that undergoes decomposition sublimation. The key fragment of the bulk BiI(3) structure, [Formula: see text] [I—Bi—I] layer of edge-sharing BiI(6) octahedra, is preserved in the ultra-thin film limit, but exhibits large atomic relaxations. The stacking sequence of the trilayers and alternations of the Bi—I distances in the monosheet are the same as in the bulk BiI(3) structure. Momentum resolved photoemission spectroscopy indicates a direct band gap of 1.2 eV. The Dirac surface state is completely destroyed and a new flat band appears in the band gap of the BiI(3) film that could be interpreted as an interface state.