Heterogeneous nucleation of pits via step pinning during Si(100) homoepitaxy

Yitamben, Esmeralda; Butera, Robert E.; Swartzentruber, Brian S.; Simonson, Robert J.; Misra, Shashank; Carroll, Malcolm S.; Bussmann, Ezra

doi:10.1088/1367-2630/aa9397

Heterogeneous nucleation of pits via step pinning during Si(100) homoepitaxy

Journal Article · Wed Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2017 · New Journal of Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/aa9397· OSTI ID:1406367

Yitamben, Esmeralda ^[1]; Butera, Robert E. ^[2]; Swartzentruber, Brian S. ^[1]; Simonson, Robert J. ^[1]; Misra, Shashank ^[1]; Carroll, Malcolm S. ^[1]; Bussmann, Ezra ^[1]

Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Lab. for Physical Sciences, College Park, MD (United States)

Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we investigate oxide-induced growth pits in Si thin films deposited by molecular beam epitaxy. In the transition temperature range from 2D adatom islanding to step-flow growth, systematic controlled air leaks into the growth chamber induce pits in the growth surface. We show that pits are also correlated with oxygen-contaminated flux from Si sublimation sources. From a thermodynamic standpoint, multilayer growth pits are unexpected in relaxed homoepitaxial growth, whereas oxidation is a known cause for step-pinning, roughening, and faceting on elemental surfaces, both with and without growth flux. Not surprisingly, pits are thermodynamically metastable and heal by annealing to recover a smooth periodic step arrangement. STM reveals new details about the pits' atomistic origins and growth dynamics. Here, we give a model for heterogeneous nucleation of pits by preferential adsorption of Å-sized oxide nuclei at intrinsic growth antiphase boundaries, and subsequent step pinning and bunching around the nuclei.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC04-94AL85000

OSTI ID:: 1406367

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1465800

Report Number(s):: SAND--2017-11273J; SAND--2017-6009J; 657902

Journal Information:: New Journal of Physics, Journal Name: New Journal of Physics Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 19; ISSN 1367-2630

Publisher:: IOP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (62)

Evolution of surface morphology of Si(100)-(2×1) during oxygen adsorption at elevated temperatures Wurm, K.; Kliese, R.; Hong, Y. Physical Review B, Vol. 50, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.50.1567	journal	July 1994
Effect of surface steps on oxide-cluster nucleation and sticking of oxygen on Si(001) surfaces Brichzin, V.; Pelz, J. P. Physical Review B, Vol. 59, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.59.10138	journal	April 1999
Finite-temperature phase diagram of vicinal Si(100) surfaces Alerhand, O. L.; Berker, A. Nihat; Joannopoulos, J. D. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 64, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.64.2406	journal	May 1990
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy study of Oxide Nucleation and Oxidation-Induced Roughening at Elevated Temperatures on the Si(001)-(2 × 1) Surface Seiple, J. V.; Pelz, J. P. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 73, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.73.999	journal	August 1994
Surface Waves and Strain Modulations in Si_1-xGe_x Alloy Layers on Si Cullis, A. G.; Robbins, D. J.; Pidduck, A. J. MRS Proceedings, Vol. 280 https://doi.org/10.1557/proc-280-383	journal	January 1992
Growth and perfection of chemically-deposited epitaxial layers of Si and GaAs Joyce, B. A. Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0248(68)90100-0	journal	January 1968
The epitaxial growth of silicon and germanium films on (111) silicon surfaces using UHV sublimation and evaporation techniques Cullis, A. G.; Booker, G. R. Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0248(71)90220-X	journal	May 1971
Examination of pits appearing on selectively grown Si film on SiO2 patterned wafers Kanaya, H.; Imai, S.; Sugiyama, N. Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 165, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0248(96)00243-6	journal	July 1996
Evolution of surface morphology and strain during SiGe epitaxy Pidduck, A. J.; Robbins, D. J.; Cullis, A. G. Thin Solid Films, Vol. 222, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-6090(92)90042-A	journal	December 1992
The interaction of molecular and atomic oxygen with Si(100) and Si(111) Engel, Thomas Surface Science Reports, Vol. 18, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-5729(93)90016-I	journal	January 1993
STM studies of Si(100)-2×1 oxidation: defect chemistry and Si ejection Avouris, Ph.; Cahill, D. Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 42-44 https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3991(92)90366-R	journal	July 1992
Growth of epitaxial germanium-silicon heterostructures by chemical vapour deposition Greve, D. W. Materials Science and Engineering: B, Vol. 18, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0921-5107(93)90110-9	journal	February 1993
Origin of roughening in epitaxial growth of silicon on Si(0 0 1) and Ge(0 0 1) surfaces Zandvliet, H. J. W.; Zoethout, E.; Wulfhekel, W. Surface Science, Vol. 482-485 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0039-6028(01)00807-X	journal	June 2001
On the microscopic origin of the kinetic step bunching instability on vicinal Si() Mysliveček, J.; Schelling, C.; Schäffler, F. Surface Science, Vol. 520, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0039-6028(02)02273-2	journal	December 2002
Fundamental processes in Si/Si and Ge/Si epitaxy studied by scanning tunneling microscopy during growth Voigtländer, Bert Surface Science Reports, Vol. 43, Issue 5-8 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-5729(01)00012-7	journal	September 2001
Steps on surfaces: experiment and theory Jeong, Hyeong-Chai; Williams, Ellen D. Surface Science Reports, Vol. 34, Issue 6-8 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-5729(98)00010-7	journal	September 1999
Instabilities in crystal growth by atomic or molecular beams Politi, Paolo; Grenet, Geneviève; Marty, Alain Physics Reports, Vol. 324, Issue 5-6 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0370-1573(99)00046-0	journal	February 2000
Analysis of growth on 75 mm Si (100) wafers by molecular beam epitaxy using in vacuo scanning tunneling microscopy Jernigan, Glenn G.; Thompson, Phillip E.; Twigg, Mark E. Materials Science and Engineering: B, Vol. 89, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-5107(01)00819-4	journal	February 2002
Pyramid-like nanostructures created by Si homoepitaxy on Si(001) Galiana, N.; Martin, P. P.; Munuera, C. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, Vol. 12, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2009.07.016	journal	February 2009
Controllable valley splitting in silicon quantum devices Goswami, Srijit; Slinker, K. A.; Friesen, Mark Nature Physics, Vol. 3, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys475	journal	December 2006
Cuspidal pit formation during the growth of Si_xGe_1−x strained films Chen, K. M.; Jesson, D. E.; Pennycook, S. J. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 66, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.114172	journal	January 1995
In situ Si flux cleaning technique for producing atomically flat Si(100) surfaces at low temperature Wilk, G. D.; Wei, Yi; Edwards, Hal Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 70, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.119083	journal	April 1997
Control of surface morphology through variation of growth rate in SiGe/Si(100) epitaxial films: Nucleation of “quantum fortresses” Gray, Jennifer L.; Hull, Robert; Floro, Jerrold A. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 81, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1509094	journal	September 2002
Surface Processes in the Growth of Silicon on (111) Silicon in Ultrahigh Vacuum Abbink, H. C.; Broudy, R. M.; McCarthy, G. P. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 39, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1655818	journal	September 1968
Substrate pit formation and surface wetting during thermal annealing of strained-Si/relaxed-Si0.78Ge0.22 heterostructure Jang, C. H.; Paik, S. I.; Kim, Y. W. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 90, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2696228	journal	February 2007
Investigating the regrowth surface of Si:P δ-layers toward vertically stacked three dimensional devices McKibbin, S. R.; Clarke, W. R.; Fuhrer, A. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 95, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3269924	journal	December 2009
Semiconductor molecular‐beam epitaxy at low temperatures Eaglesham, D. J. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 77, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.358597	journal	April 1995
Surface roughening during low temperature Si(100) epitaxy Karpenko, O. P.; Yalisove, S. M.; Eaglesham, D. J. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 82, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.365883	journal	August 1997
Morphology and microstructure of tensile-strained SiGe(001) thin epitaxial films Van Nostrand, J. E.; Cahill, David G.; Petrov, I. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 83, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.366799	journal	January 1998
Strain relaxation by pit formation in epitaxial SiGe alloy films grown on Si(001) Di Gaspare, L.; Palange, E.; Capellini, G. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 88, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.373705	journal	July 2000
Low‐temperature silicon epitaxy by ultrahigh vacuum/chemical vapor deposition Meyerson, B. S. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 48, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.96673	journal	March 1986
A study of nucleation in chemically grown epitaxial silicon films using molecular beam techniques III. Nucleation rate measurements and the effect of oxygen on initial growth behaviour Joyce, B. A.; Bradley, R. R.; Booker, G. R. Philosophical Magazine, Vol. 15, Issue 138 https://doi.org/10.1080/14786436708222757	journal	June 1967
Antiphase boundaries as nucleation centers in low-temperature silicon epitaxial growth Bronikowski, Michael J.; Wang, Yajun; Hamers, Robert J. Physical Review B, Vol. 48, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.48.12361	journal	October 1993
{311} facets of selectively grown epitaxial Si layers onSiO2-patterned Si(100) surfaces Hirayama, Hiroyuki; Hiroi, Masayuki; Ide, Takashi Physical Review B, Vol. 48, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.48.17331	journal	December 1993
Evolution of surface morphology of Si(100)-(2×1) during oxygen adsorption at elevated temperatures Wurm, K.; Kliese, R.; Hong, Y. Physical Review B, Vol. 50, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.50.1567	journal	July 1994
Growth mode inSi(100)−(2×1)epitaxy by low-temperature chemical-vapor deposition Wu, Perng-Hung; Lin, Deng-Sung Physical Review B, Vol. 57, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.57.12421	journal	May 1998
Effect of surface steps on oxide-cluster nucleation and sticking of oxygen on Si(001) surfaces Brichzin, V.; Pelz, J. P. Physical Review B, Vol. 59, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.59.10138	journal	April 1999
Theory of valley-orbit coupling in a Si/SiGe quantum dot Friesen, Mark; Coppersmith, S. N. Physical Review B, Vol. 81, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.81.115324	journal	March 2010
Interface roughness, valley-orbit coupling, and valley manipulation in quantum dots Culcer, Dimitrie; Hu, Xuedong; Das Sarma, S. Physical Review B, Vol. 82, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.82.205315	journal	November 2010
Multivalley effective mass theory simulation of donors in silicon Gamble, John King; Jacobson, N. Tobias; Nielsen, Erik Physical Review B, Vol. 91, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.235318	journal	June 2015
Elastic cost of silicon step rebonding Leroy, F.; Garreau, Y.; Cheynis, F. Physical Review B, Vol. 93, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.93.045416	journal	January 2016
Stabilities of single-layer and bilayer steps on Si(001) surfaces Chadi, D. J. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 59, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.59.1691	journal	October 1987
Growth and equilibrium structures in the epitaxy of Si on Si(001) Mo, Y. -W.; Swartzentruber, B.; Kariotis, R. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 63, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.63.2393	journal	November 1989
Finite-temperature phase diagram of vicinal Si(100) surfaces Alerhand, O. L.; Berker, A. Nihat; Joannopoulos, J. D. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 64, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.64.2406	journal	May 1990
Limiting thickness h_{epi} for epitaxial growth and room-temperature Si growth on Si(100) Eaglesham, D.; Gossmann, H. -J.; Cerullo, M. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 65, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.65.1227	journal	September 1990
Roughening of steps during homoepitaxial growth on Si(001) Wu, F.; Jaloviar, S. G.; Savage, D. E. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 71, Issue 25 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.71.4190	journal	December 1993
Competing relaxation mechanisms in strained layers Tersoff, J.; LeGoues, F. K. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 72, Issue 22 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.72.3570	journal	May 1994
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy study of Oxide Nucleation and Oxidation-Induced Roughening at Elevated Temperatures on the Si(001)-(2 × 1) Surface Seiple, J. V.; Pelz, J. P. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 73, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.73.999	journal	August 1994
Structures of Steps and Appearances of {311} Facets on Si(100) Surfaces Oshiyama, Atsushi Physical Review Letters, Vol. 74, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.130	journal	January 1995
Self-Assembly of Quantum-Dot Molecules: Heterogeneous Nucleation of SiGe Islands on Si(100) Deng, X.; Krishnamurthy, M. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 81, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.1473	journal	August 1998
Kinetic Growth Instabilities on Vicinal Si(001) Surfaces Schelling, C.; Springholz, G.; Schäffler, F. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 83, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.995	journal	August 1999
Exchange in Silicon-Based Quantum Computer Architecture Koiller, Belita; Hu, Xuedong; Das Sarma, S. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 88, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.027903	journal	December 2001
Crystal surfaces in and out of equilibrium: A modern view Misbah, Chaouqi; Pierre-Louis, Olivier; Saito, Yukio Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 82, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.82.981	journal	March 2010
Silicon quantum electronics Zwanenburg, Floris A.; Dzurak, Andrew S.; Morello, Andrea Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 85, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.85.961	journal	July 2013
Scanning tunneling microscopy studies of structural disorder and steps on Si surfaces Swartzentruber, B. S.; Mo, Y. ‐W.; Webb, M. B. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 7, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.576167	journal	July 1989
Epitaxial growth of silicon on Si(001) by scanning tunneling microscopy Hamers, R. J.; Köhler, U. K.; Demuth, J. E. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.577063	journal	January 1990
Evolution of atomic‐scale roughening on Si(001)‐(2×1) surfaces resulting from high temperature oxidation Seiple, J. V.; Pelz, J. P. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 13, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.579825	journal	May 1995
Gas phase etching of Si(111)-(7×7) surfaces by oxygen observed by scanning tunneling microscopy Donig, F. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures, Vol. 11, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.586527	journal	November 1993
Influence of irregular growth of monoatomic steps during Si/Si(001) epitaxy on generation of surface defects Arapkina, Larisa V.; Yuryev, Vladimir A. SPIE Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2017083	conference	May 2013
Atomistic Processes in the Early Stages of Thin-Film Growth Zhang, Z. Science, Vol. 276, Issue 5311 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.276.5311.377	journal	April 1997
Low Temperature Surface Cleaning of Silicon and Its Application to Silicon MBE Ishizaka, Akitoshi Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 133, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2108651	journal	January 1986
Metamorphic epitaxial materials Richardson, Christopher J. K.; Lee, Minjoo Larry MRS Bulletin, Vol. 41, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2016.7	journal	March 2016

Similar Records

Submonolayer nucleation and growth and the initial stage of multilayer kinetic roughening during Ag/Ag (100) homoepitaxy

Technical Report · Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1996 · OSTI ID:383657

Interplay between elastic interactions and kinetic processes in stepped Si (001) homoepitaxy

Journal Article · Thu Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 2006 · Physical Review B · OSTI ID:931902

Nucleation, growth, and kinetic roughening of metal(100) homoepitaxial thin films

Journal Article · Tue Jan 09 23:00:00 EST 1996 · Langmuir · OSTI ID:199418

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Si(100)
defect
growth pit
impurity
molecular beam epitaxy
oxide
scanning tunneling microscopy
thin film

Heterogeneous nucleation of pits via step pinning during Si(100) homoepitaxy

Citation Formats

References (62)

Similar Records

Related Subjects