RHEED studies of vicinal Si(111) surfaces and Ag films grown on Si(111)

Technical Report · Mon Feb 23 04:00:00 EST 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/671996· OSTI ID:671996

Stanley, M K

Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) was used to study the growth of silver films and the evolution of step structures on the silicon (111) surface. Silver films were deposited by molecular beam epitaxy onto the Si(111) 7 x 7 surface. Films deposited below room temperature showed RHEED intensity oscillation whose quality improved with decreasing temperature. RHEED oscillations were also improved by the application of an initial burst in the deposition flux. Such improvement and the temperature dependence of the oscillations is attributed to an increase in the island nucleation density. Vicinal silicon samples miscut from the (111) plane by 1.2{degree}, 2.5{degree}, and 4.5{degree} towards the [2{bar 1}{bar 1}] direction were studied. If the samples were cooled slowly through the 1 x 1 to 7 x 7 phase transition a step bunching transformation would occur that produced large (111) terraces. During this transition the diffraction spot splitting would vanish while maintaining a constant splitting width. This suggest that the transition occurs by the growth of a few terraces incorporating the others with the widths of the other terraces remaining fixed until incorporation.

• Research Organization: Ames Lab., IA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-82
• OSTI ID: 671996
• Report Number(s): IS-T--1836; ON: DE98004615
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
66 PHYSICS
CRYSTAL GROWTH
ELECTRON DIFFRACTION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GRAIN ORIENTATION
LATTICE PARAMETERS
NUCLEATION
SILICON
SILVER
SURFACE PROPERTIES
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE