Defects in ultraflat germanene on Cu(111)

Germanene is one of the most promising two-dimensional materials beyond graphene. The electronic properties of germanene are outstanding. However, structural defects, which may appear during growth or processing, deteriorating the performance of germanene-based devices, are elusive. Here, we combine scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations to investigate the defects in epitaxial ultraflat germanene on Cu(111). Three types of defects are found and their electronic properties are explored. Single germanium atom vacancy leads to three well-defined states in local density of states, whereas the mirror twin boundary induced four electronic states confirmed by theoretical calculations. Furthermore, strain induced wrinkles with enhanced electronic states occurred in ultraflat germanene. In addition, we synthesized bi- and trilayer germanene with significant different electronic properties, where a tiny band gap is opened due to the symmetry breaking.