  We studied by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy the strain-related
structural transition from a pseudomorphic monolayer (ML) to a striped
incommensurate phase in an Ag thin film grown on Pt(111). We exploited the
surfactant properties of Bi to grow ordered Pt(111)-xMLAg-Bi trilayers with 0 <
x < 5 ML, and monitored the dispersion of the Bi-derived interface states to
probe the structure of the underlying Ag film. We find that their symmetry
changes from threefold to sixfold and back to threefold in the Ag coverage
range studied. Together with previous scanning tunneling microscopy and
photoelectron diffraction data, these results provide a consistent microscopic
description of the coverage-dependent structural transition.

Materials Science