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

doi:10.1007/s11706-015-0282-z

Front. Mater. Sci.

2015, Vol. 9

Issue (2) : 141-146 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-015-0282-z

RESEARCH ARTICLE

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

Andreas FISSEL(

),Ayan Roy CHAUDHURI,Jan KRÜGENER,Philipp GRIBISCH,H. Jörg OSTEN

Institute of Electronic Materials and Devices, Leibniz University Hannover, Schneiderberg 32, 30167 Hannover, Germany

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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

Corresponding Author(s): Andreas FISSEL

Online First Date: 21 April 2015 Issue Date: 23 July 2015

Cite this article:

Andreas FISSEL,Ayan Roy CHAUDHURI,Jan KRüGENER, et al. Impact of surface phase coexistence on the development of step-free areas on Si(111)[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2015, 9(2): 141-146.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/10.1007/s11706-015-0282-z
https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/Y2015/V9/I2/141

Fig.1 Summarized data of step-free areas (λ²) (λ is the step-free terrace width) as a function of temperature (T) (Arrhenius graph), with corresponding AFM images of the mesa surfaces.

Fig.2 Schematic illustration of the change in surface energy of the "1×1" and 7×7 phase at temperature around T_C and the shift in T_C due to the energy associated with the transfer of excess adatom density (Δμ?Δn).

Fig.3 Excess chemical potential profile across a 10 μm wide terrace calculated for a Si flux of 4×10¹³ cm^-2·s^-1 at 1120 K, where only the 1×1 surface phase was observed. Critical supersaturation for nucleation is also indicated by the dotted line.

Fig.4 (a) Illustration of step and phase boundary configuration used for the calculation. (b) Profile of Δμ across a 4 μm wide terrace with coexisting (7×7) and "1×1" domains (phase boundary ? at λ/2) and with only (7×7) superstructure. Δμ_crit for nucleation is also indicated by the dotted line.

Fig.5 AFM image of Si(111) mesa surface after fast cooling from 1120 K, exhibiting only one small step in the left, upper corner, however, many small triangular-shaped islands arranged in lines.

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