Highly Stable Si Atomic Line Formation on theβ-SiC(100) Surface

We use scanning tunneling microscopy to evidence the controlled formation of straight, very long, and highly stable Si atomic lines self-organizing on the $\beta -\mathrm{SiC}\left(100\right)$ surface. These atomic channels, which are composed of Si dimers, form at the phase transition between the $3\times 2$ and $c(4\times 2)$ reconstructions by selective Si atom organization. The presence of Si atomic lines is found to coincide systematically with a lateral mismatch between the $c(4\times 2)$ Si-dimer rows. Their number and spacing are mediated by annealing time and temperature, resulting in unprecedented arrangements ranging from a very large superlattice to a single isolated atomic line.