Source Data used for the manuscript "Experimental realization of the topologically nontrivial phase in monolayer Si2Te2 published in Nature Communications. In this study we realized the epitaxial growth of strain-free monolayer Si2Te2 on HfTe2 substrate. Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy reveal an intact (1×1) lattice and a bulk band gap of ~300 meV, consistent with first-principles calculations. Moreover, pronounced edge states extending ~2.0 nm from the island boundary are observed in monolayer Si2Te2, exhibiting characteristics expected for topological edge modes.
Our results establish monolayer Si2Te2 as a large-gap two-dimensional topological-insulator platform for topological phenomena and device concepts at elevated temperatures.