Honeycomb Lattice in Metal-Rich Chalcogenide Fe_2Te

Two-dimensional honeycomb crystals have inspired intense research interest for their novel properties and great potential in electronics and optoelectronics. Here, through molecular beam epitaxy on SrTiO_3(001), we report successful epitaxial growth of metal-rich chalcogenide Fe_2Te, a honeycomb-structured film that has no direct bulk analogue, under Te-limited growth conditions. The structural morphology and electronic properties of Fe_2Te are explored with scanning tunneling microscopy and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy, which reveal electronic bands cross the Fermi level and nearly flat bands. Moreover, we find a weak interfacial interaction between Fe_2Te and the underlying substrates, paving a newly developed alternative avenue for honeycomb-based electronic devices.