Doping SrTiO3 supported FeSe by excess atoms and oxygen vacancies

Photoemission studies of FeSe monolayer films on SrTiO3 substrate have shown electronic structures that deviate from pristine FeSe, consistent with heavy electron doping. With the help of first-principles calculations we studied the effect of excess Fe and Se atoms on the monolayer and oxygen vacancies in the substrate in order to understand the reported Fermi surface in this system. We find that both excess Fe and Se atoms prefer the same adsorption site above the bottom Se atoms on the monolayer. The adsorbed Fe is strongly magnetic and contributes electrons to the monolayer, while excess Se hybridizes with the monolayer Fe-d states and partially opens a gap just above the Fermi energy. We also find that the two-dimensional electron gas generated by the oxygen vacancies is partly transferred to the monolayer and can potentially suppress the hole pockets around the Γ point. Furthermore, both O vacancies in the SrTiO3 substrate and excess Fe over the monolayer can provide high levels of electron doping.