A comprehensive analysis of the ([radic]13 [radic]13)R13.9 degree type II structure of silicene on Ag(1 1 1)

In this paper, using the same geometrical approach as for the (2 [radic] 3 2 [radic] 3)R30 degree structure (Jamgotchian et al 2015 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 27 395002), for the ([radic]13 [radic]13)R13.9 degree type II structure, we propose an atomic model of the silicene layer based on a periodic relaxation of the strain epitaxy. This relaxation creates periodic arrangements of perfect areas of ([radic]13 [radic]13)R13.9 degree type II structure surrounded by defect areas. A detailed analysis of the main published experimental results, obtained by scanning tunneling microscopy and by low energy electron diffraction, shows a good agreement with the geometrical model.