Impact of surface phase coexistence on the development of step-free areas on Si(111)

Abstract

The step-flow growth condition of Si on Si(111) near the (7×7)-"1×1" surface phase transition temperature T_C are analyzed within the framework of Burton--Cabrera--Frank theory. In particular, coexistence of both surface phases well below T_C and their specific influence on the step-flow growth behavior are considered. We presume that under dynamical condition of growth, the surface initially covered by only the (7×7) phase separates into domains surrounded by "1×1" areas. On such a surface, the overall supersaturation should be reduced drastically compared to a surface with only (7×7), resulting in much larger critical terrace width for nucleation.

Keywords

molecular beam epitaxy / step-flow growth mode / surface superstructure / silicon

References

[1] Fissel A, Krügener J, Osten H J. Preparation of large step-free mesas on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy. physica status solidi (c), 2012, 10–11: 2050–2053

[2] Krügener J, Osten H J, Fissel A. Morphology of mesa surfaces on Si(111) prepared by molecular beam epitaxy at temperatures around the (7×7)-"1×1" surface phase transition. Surface Science, 2013, 618: 27–35

[3] Hannon J B, zu Heringdorf F J, Tersoff J, . Phase coexistence during surface phase transitions. Physical Review Letters, 2001, 86(21): 4871–4874

[4] Hannon J B, Tersoff J, Tromp R M. Surface stress and thermodynamic nanoscale size selection. Science, 2002, 295(5553): 299–301

[5] Hannon J B, Tersoff J, Reuter M C, . Influence of supersaturation on surface structure. Physical Review Letters, 2002, 89(26): 266103 (4 pages)

[6] Yang Y, Williams E D. High atom density in the "1×1" phase and origin of the metastable reconstructions on Si(111). Physical Review Letters, 1994, 72(12): 1862–1865

[7] Burton W K, Cabrera N, Frank F C. The growth of crystals and the equilibrium structure of their surfaces. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1951, 243(866): 299–358

[8] Desai P D. Thermodynamic properties of iron and silicon. Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data, 1986, 15(3): 967–982

[9] Peng A B, Man K L, Altman M S, . Step line tension and step morphological evolution on the Si(111) (1×1) surface. Physical Review B, 2008, 77: 115424 (12 pages)

[10] Pimpinelli A, Villain J, Wolf D E, . Equilibrium step dynamics on vicinal surfaces. Surface Science, 1993, 295(1–2): 143–153

[11] Hibino H, Hu C W, Ogino T, . Decay kinetics of two-dimensional islands and holes on Si(111) studied by low-energy electron microscopy. Physical Review B, 2001, 63: 245402 (8 pages)

[12] Ol'shanetskii B Z, Repinskii S M, Shklyaev A A. Possibility of investigating surface self-diffusion of silicon by slow-electron diffraction methode. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters, 1978, 27(7): 378–380

[13] Hannon J B, Hibino H, Bartelt N C, . Dynamics of the silicon (111) surface phase transition. Nature, 2000, 405(6786): 552–554

[14] Watanabe H, Ichikawa M. Kinetics of vacancy diffusion on Si(111) surfaces studied by scanning reflection electron microscopy. Physical Review B, 1996, 54(8): 5574–5580

[15] Cho K, Kaxiras E. Intermitted diffusion on the reconstructed Si(111) surface. Europhysics Letters, 1997, 39(3): 287–292

[16] Bedair S M. Activation energy for migration of silicon (111) face. Surface Science, 1974, 42(2): 595–599

[17] Sato T, Kitamura Sh, Iwatsuki M. Surface diffusion of adsorbed Si atoms on the Si(111)7×7 surface studied by atom-tracking scanning tunneling microscopy. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, 2000, 18(3): 960–964

[18] NoorBatcha I, Raff L M, Thompson D L, . A phenomeno-logical approach to the calculation of diffusion coefficient for Si on Si(111) using classical trajectories. Journal of Chemical Physics, 1985, 82(3): 1543–1550

[19] Hibino H, Homma Y, Uwaha M, . Step wandering induced by homoepitaxy on Si(111) during "1×1"-7×7 phase transition. Surface Science, 2003, 527(1–3): L222–L238

[20] Zinovyev V A, Balandin V Yu, Aleksandrov L N, . Step flow at homoepitaxy of Si(111) with (7×7)↔(1×1) superstructure phase transition. physica status solidi (b), 1992, 173: K5–K9

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg