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Fingerprinting weak electronic interaction at a van der Waals interface: Fano signatures in a pentacene monolayer on graphite

Yuri Hasegawa1,*, Takuma Yamaguchi2, Matthias Meissner1, Takahiro Ueba1, Fabio Bussolotti1, Shin-ichiro Ideta3,†, Kiyohisa Tanaka2,3, Susumu Yanagisawa4, and Satoshi Kera1,2,3,‡

  • *Present address: Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8573, Japan.
  • †Present address: Hiroshima Research Institute for Synchrotron Radiation Science (HiSOR), Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 739-0046, Japan.
  • ‡Contact author: kera@ims.ac.jp
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Phys. Rev. B 112, 085301 – Published 1 August, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2k7h-h8jm

Abstract

We investigated the influence of van der Waals interactions on the electronic structure at the interface between a pentacene monolayer and a graphite surface. Upon cooling below 130 K, the pentacene molecules form a densely packed monolayer characterized by newly developed dispersive bands. These bands, observed using low-energy angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy with photon energy varying from 7.2 to 8.5 eV, exhibit constant final-state characteristics that overlap with nondispersive molecular-orbital states. This overlap results in variations in photoemission intensity—both enhancement and suppressions—indicative of Fano resonance. Such resonance arises from the interaction between a discrete molecular state and a continuum state. The Fano profile analysis of spectral fine features reveals the wave-function connection by the broader spread in unoccupied states at the physisorbed interface.

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Phys. Rev. B 112, 085301– Published 1 August, 2025
  • Received 28 October 2024
  • Revised 7 May 2025
  • Accepted 13 June 2025
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