Tuning the surface state dimensionality of Cu nanostripes

Stepped Cu nanostripes with varying terrace widths are self-assembled during Ag-induced periodic faceting of vicinal Cu(111). By changing Ag coverage the average terrace size within individual Cu stripes is readily tuned, making it possible to select the one-dimensional or two-dimensional character of surface states. Furthermore, the average terrace size can be smoothly switched from 10 to 30 Angstrom, thereby tracking the transition from step-lattice, quasi-two-dimensional umklapp bands to terrace-confined one-dimensional quantum well states.