Monte Carlo simulation for temperature dependence of Ga diffusion length on GaAs(0 0 1)

Diffusion length of Ga on the GaAs(0 0 1)-(2×4)β2 is investigated by a newly developed Monte Carlo-based computational method. The new computational method incorporates chemical potential of Ga in the vapor phase and Ga migration potential on the reconstructed surface obtained by ab initio calculations; therefore we can investigate the adsorption, diffusion and desorption kinetics of adsorbate atoms on the surface. The calculated results imply that Ga diffusion length before desorption decreases exponentially with temperature because Ga surface lifetime decreases exponentially. Furthermore, Ga diffusion length L along and [1 1 0] on the GaAs(0 0 1)-(2×4)β2 are estimated to be and L_[110]200 nm, respectively, at the incorporation–desorption transition temperature (T860 K).     

Adsorption of Ag on Si(1 0 0) surface

The chemisorption of one monolayer Ag atoms on an ideal Si(1 0 0) surface is studied by using the self-consistent tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital method. The adsorption energies (E_ad) of different sites are calculated. It is found that the adsorbed Ag atoms are more favorable on C site (fourfold site) than on any other sites on Si(1 0 0) surface, the polar covalent bond is formed between Ag atom and surface Si atom, a Ag and Si mixed layer does not exist and does form an abrupt interface at the Ag–Si(1 0 0) interface. This is in agreement with the experiment results. The layer-projected density of states is calculated and compared with that of the clean surface. The charge transfer is also investigated. Comparing with the Au/Si(1 0 0) system, the interaction is weaker between Ag and Si than between Au and Si.     

Morphological anisotropy during migration enhanced epitaxy of GaAs(0 0 1)

The GaAs(0 0 1) surface morphology and structure during growth by migration enhanced epitaxy (MEE) has been studied by reflection high energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy. Changes induced by varying the incident As/Ga flux ratio, growth temperature and the total amount of material deposited in each cycle have been studied and the results compared with GaAs(0 0 1) growth by conventional molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Comparison of the surface morphology at the end of the Ga and As cycles indicates no clear evidence for any enhancement in the Ga adatom diffusion length during the Ga cycle. However, the morphological anisotropy of the growth front does change significantly and it is proposed that this changing anisotropy during MEE enables Ga adatom diffusion along both azimuths. The surface anisotropy during MEE growth is found to increase with the Ga/As ratio. Although there is a clear correlation between composition and morphology, we have also found that highly ordered and flat surfaces are not necessarily an indication of stoichiometric material. We also attempt to clarify a recent controversy on the structure of the c(4 × 4) reconstruction by studying the surface structure at the end of the As cycle as a function of the As/Ga ratio.     

A study of Ga layers on Si(1 0 0)-(2 × 1) by SR-PES: Influence of adsorbed water

Results for deposition and thermal annealing of gallium on the Si(1 0 0)-(2 × 1) surface achieved by synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy (SR-PES) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED) are presented. In addition to deposition of Ga on a clean surface, the influence of water adsorption on the arrangement of gallium atoms was also studied. The results on Ga deposition at a higher temperature (490 °C) are consistent with a Ga ad-dimer model showing equivalent bond arrangement of all Ga atoms for coverages up to 0.5 ML. The deposition onto a surface with adsorbed water at room temperature led to a disordered gallium growth. In this case gallium atoms bind to silicon dimers already binding fragments of adsorbed water. A subsequent annealing of these layers leads to a surface structure similar to the Ga-(2 × 2), however, it is less ordered, probably due to the presence of silicon oxides formed from water fragments.     

Photoemission study of samarium on and CdTe(1 0 0)

Experimental photoemission results on and CdTe(1 0 0) surfaces on a function of samarium adsorbate coverage are presented. Energy distribution curves were recorded at photon energies around the Sm 4d→4f threshold (135–136 eV) to reveal the Sm contribution to the electronic structure and enhance the sensitivity. The evolution of core-level Ga 3d and Cd 4d spectra was also studied. The interaction of Sm with both GaN and CdTe leads to reactive interface formation. In the case of CdTe, it results in creation of an interfacial Sm–CdTe compound, which inhibits further diffusion of Sm into the bulk. The interaction of Sm with GaN leads to the release of Ga atoms on the surface and segregation of Ga clusters.     

Initial interface study of Au deposition on GaN(0 0 0 1)

Synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy (SRPES) has been used to study the electronic structure of the Au/GaN(0 0 0 1) system at the initial growth stage. The peak fitting of Au4f_7/2 core-level and the energy shift of valence band indicate that Au–Ga alloy were formed in the interface reaction. According to the Ga3d signal intensity attenuation vs. the gold film thickness, the early growth mode is considered to be 3D mode above the reaction layer. By using the Linear Augmented Plane Wave method the density of states (DOS) for GaN and Au bulk are calculated within the framework of local functional theory. The theoretical results agree with the valence band structure quite well. The mechanism of interface reaction is discussed based on the experimental and theoretical results.     

Ga-induced superstructures on the Si(1 1 1) 7 × 7 surface

Monolayer Ga adsorption on Si surfaces has been studied with the aim of forming p-delta doped nanostructures. Ga surface phases on Si can be nitrided by N₂⁺ ion bombardment to form GaN nanostructures with exotic electron confinement properties for novel optoelectronic devices. In this study, we report the adsorption of Ga in the submonolayer regime on 7 × 7 reconstructed Si(1 1 1) surface at room temperature, under controlled ultrahigh vacuum conditions. We use in-situ Auger electron spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction to monitor the growth and determine the properties. We observe that Ga grows in the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode, where islands begin to form on two flat monolayers. The variation in the dangling bond density is observed during the interface evolution by monitoring the Si (LVV) line shape. The Ga adsorbed system is subjected to thermal annealing and the residual thermal desorption studied. The difference in the adsorption kinetics and desorption dynamics on the surface morphology is explained in terms of strain relaxation routes and bonding configurations. Due to the presence of an energetic hierarchy of residence sites of adatoms, site we also plot a 2D phase diagram consisting of several surface phases. Our EELS results show that the electronic properties of the surface phases are unique to their respective structural arrangement.     

The kaolinite (0 0 1) polar basal plane

Kaolinite is thought to be an efficient ice nucleating agent because kaolinite crystals expose perfect unreconstructed (0 0 1) basal surfaces which provide a suitable template for ice growth. However, we show here with the aid of density functional theory calculations that the unreconstructed basal surface is polar. Various mechanisms to eliminate the macroscopic dipole and in so-doing stabilize the basal surface are considered. The most promising option identified so far involves the adsorption of foreign atoms (for example, Na and Cl atoms) on the perfect basal surface, since this yields a non-metallic surface with a cleavage energy lower than the unreconstructed polar basal surface. A quantitative experimental structure determination of the kaolinite basal surface is called for.     

Direct decomposition of nitrogen monoxide over a K-deposited Co(0 0 0 1) surface: Comparison to K-doped cobalt oxide catalysts

The influence of deposited potassium on the oxidation and NO reactivity of a Co(0 0 0 1) surface was studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The formation of surface CoO was observed when the clean Co(0 0 0 1) surface was exposed to O₂ at 500 K. In contrast, the Co atoms on the K-deposited Co(0 0 0 1) surface remained at a lower oxidation state, CoO_x (0 < x < 1). No adsorption or dissociation of NO occurred on the CoO/Co(0 0 0 1) surface at 320 K, whereas a NO₂⁻ species formed on the oxidized K/Co(0 0 0 1) surface. This species is considered to be an intermediate in NO decomposition. It was concluded that the role of potassium was (i) to form the NO₂⁻ intermediate, and (ii) to keep the Co surface partially oxidized (CoO_x) as the active site for the dissociation of the NO₂⁻ species.     

LEED structure determination of the Ni(1 1 1)(√3×√3)R30°-Sn surface

Quantitative low energy electron diffraction has been used to determine the structure of the Ni(1 1 1)(√3×√3)R30°-Sn surface phase. The results confirm that the surface layer comprises a substitutional alloy of composition Ni₂Sn as previously found by low energy ion scattering (LEIS), and also shows that there is no stacking fault at the substrate/alloy interface as has been found in (√3×√3)R30°-Sb surface alloys on Ag and Cu(1 1 1). The surface alloy layer is rumpled with the Sn atoms 0.45 ± 0.03 Å higher above the substrate than the surrounding Ni atoms. This rumpling amplitude is almost identical to that previously reported on the basis of the LEIS study. Comparison with similar results for Sn-induced surface alloy phases on Ni(1 0 0) and Ni(1 1 0) shows a clear trend to reduced rumpling with reduced surface atomic layer density, an effect which can be rationalised in terms of the different effects of valence electron charge smoothing at the surface.     

Interaction of hydrogen with GaAs (0 0 1)-2×4

The absorption of hydrogen at a GaAs (0 0 1)-2×4 surface has been studied with angular resolved photoemission, core level photoemission and RHEED. We find a prominent hydrogen-induced peak in the heteropolar gap at -7.7 eV. Our results indicate, furthermore, that the (atomic) hydrogen interacts with both As and Ga surface atoms. The interaction is complex, leading to an As-depleted and disordered surface. Simple tight-binding considerations for the heteropolar gap state indicate that it could be caused by bonding of hydrogen to both As and Ga dangling bonds.     

DFT study on surface properties and dissolution trends of Al(1 0 0) surfaces doped with Zn, Ga, In, Sn and Pb

In this paper, the properties and dissolution trends of the surfaces doped with different metal atoms on the Al(1 0 0) surface were investigated by the density functional theory calculations. A surface impurity model was proposed by replacing the topmost surface layer Al atoms by Me (Me = Zn, Ga, In, Sn and Pb) atoms with the coverage of 1/9, 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 monolayer, respectively. Results show that the surface energy of Me-Al(1 0 0) surfaces depends primarily on the nature of the impurity atom species and the monolayer coverage. The work function of Me-Al surfaces is smaller than that of pure Al(1 0 0) surface, and decreases almost linearly with the amount of Me. It is found that the Me-Al alloys are more easily dissolvable than the pure Al, due to the fact that the electrochemical dissolution potential shifts were negative for all Me-Al(1 0 0) surfaces with respect to the clean pure Al(1 0 0) surface.     

Local structure of OH adsorbed on the Ge(0 0 1)(2 × 1) surface using scanned-energy mode photoelectron diffraction

The local geometry of OH fragments adsorbed on the Ge(0 0 1)(2 × 1) surface has been examined using O 1s scanned energy mode photoelectron diffraction. These fragments were obtained by the dissociative reaction of the clean surface with H₂O. The Ge–O bond length is found to be 1.76 ± 0.02 Å and the Ge–O bond angle to be 15° ± 2° relative to the surface normal. Some information about the positions of the Ge dimer atoms has also been obtained.     

Ni ultrathin film development on SrTiO3(1 0 0) surface

The Ni ultrathin film development on the SrTiO₃(1 0 0) surface doped by Fe acceptors (0.14 wt%) has been studied by AES, LEED, TDS, EELS and relative WF measurements. Heating of the clean STO surface above 1100 K causes TiO desorption. The adsorbate grows in the simultaneous multilayers (SM) mode, approaching a rather metallic character at high coverages. The nickel adatoms in the metal–oxide interface, interact with the outmost surface oxygen atoms resulting in a two-dimensional NiO compound. The formation of this surface oxide is: (i) time dependent, (ii) temperature independent for T>300 K and (iii) promoted by the presence of surface defects. A significant amount of Ni (1.4 ML) remains on the surface, strongly chemisorbed, after high temperature annealing.     

GaN/LiNbO3 (0 0 0 1) interface formation calculated from first-principles

The stable adsorption sites for both Ga and N ions on the ideal and on the reconstructed LiNbO₃ (0 0 0 1) surface are determined by means of first-principle total energy calculations. A single N layer is found to be more strongly bound to the substrate than a single Ga layer. The adsorption of a GaN monolayer on the polar substrate within different orientations is then modeled. On the basis of our results, we propose a microscopic model for the GaN/LiNbO₃ interface. The GaN and LiNbO₃ (0 0 0 1) planes are parallel, but rotated by 30° each other, with in-plane epitaxial relationship [1 0 0]_GaN‖ [1 1  0]_LiNbO3. In this way the (0 0 0 1) plane lattice mismatch between GaN and LiNbO₃ is minimal and equal to 6.9% of the GaN lattice constant. The adsorbed GaN and the underlying LiNbO₃ substrate have parallel c-axes.     

XPS and RBS investigations of Si–Er–O interactions on a Si(1 0 0)-2x1 surface

The interactions among erbium, oxygen and silicon atoms on a Si(1 0 0)-2x1 reconstructed surface have been studied by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. Erbium and oxygen were deposited at 600 °C on the Si surface and their behavior has been observed after different thermal processes. It was found that at 600 °C, the formation of a stable surface complex Er–O–Si is obtained together with Si oxidation; after an 800 °C annealing, the amount of oxygen bound to Si decreases and the remaining O atoms are mainly bonded to Er. An abrupt change was observed after 900 and 1000 °C annealings, which bury the Er atoms about 60 Å below the substrate surface. Our results give some hints to hypotise the O diffusion towards the Si bulk.     

Mixed layer formation of copper overlayers on Ni(1 1 0) surface

Copper overlayer formation on the Ni(1 1 0) surface was studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in an ultrahigh vacuum. Atom-resolved STM images showed that initially deposited Cu is replaced with surface Ni atoms forming atom-size depressions on the Ni(1 1 0) terraces and a Ni-rich quasi-one-dimensional island along the direction. Further Cu deposition yields a mosaic structure on the islands, indicating Cu/Ni mixed layer formation. From the quantitative measurement of the Cu/Ni ratio on the substrate and the islands, impinging Cu will be replaced with surface Ni whereas expelled Ni and directly impinging Cu to the island form the mixed island. The number of Cu atoms in the islands, however, more than the directly impinging Cu, indicate significant Cu/Ni replacement at the periphery of the island.     

A real-time investigation by RHEED of the homoepitaxial growth of GaAs on (0 0 1) oriented surfaces

In this letter we report on the formation of long-range surface disorder features during the growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of homoepitaxial GaAs (0 0 1) films having the β2(2 × 4) reconstruction. Observations were made in real-time at the growth temperature using reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and analyzed kinematically. We show that kinks (cooperative shifts of whole columns of 2 × 4 units along the [1 1 0] direction) form rapidly as growth commences and that the antiphase domain structure present on the substrate prior to growth as a result of the arrangement of As-As dimers persists. This produces a surface with two types of long-range disorder. We speculate on the role of incident Ga atoms on this process.     

Adsorption of oxygen and carbon dioxide on cesium-reconstructed Ag(1 1 0) surface

The adsorption of oxygen and carbon dioxide on cesium-reconstructed Ag(1 1 0) surface has been studied with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD). At 0.1 ML Cs coverage the whole surface exhibits a mixture of (1 × 2) and (1 × 3) reconstructed structures, indicating that Cs atoms exert a cooperative effect on the surface structures. Real-time STM observation shows that silver atoms on the Cs-covered surface are highly mobile on the nanometer scale at 300 K. The Cs-reconstructed Ag(1 1 0) surface alters the structure formed by dissociative adsorption of oxygen from p(2 × 1) or c(6 × 2) to a p(3 × 5) structure which incorporates 1/3 ML Ag atoms, resulting in the formation of nanometer-sized (10–20 nm) islands. The Cs-induced reconstruction facilitates the adsorption of CO₂, which does not adsorb on unreconstructed, clean Ag(1 1 0). CO₂ adsorption leads to the formation of locally ordered (2 × 1) structures and linear (2 × 2) structures distributed inhomogeneously on the surface. Adsorbed CO₂ desorbs from the Cs-covered surface without accompanied O₂ desorption, ruling out carbonate as an intermediate. As a possible alternative, an oxalate-type surface complex [OOC–COO] is suggested, supported by the occurrence of extensive isotope exchange between oxygen atoms among CO₂(a). Direct interaction between CO₂ and Cs may become significant at higher Cs coverage (>0.3 ML).     

Study on low-energy bombardment of Au (1 1 1) by noble metal atoms with molecular dynamics simulations

The low-energy bombardment of Au (1 1 1) surface by noble metal atoms is studied with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. With the incident-energy dependence of adatom yields, sputtering yields, and vacancy yields for different projectiles, we find that the implantation of projectiles in shallow layers below surface can be distinguished by subplantation (in the first and second layers) and implantation (deeper than the third layer). The transition from subplantation to implantation occurs at the incident energy of about 45 eV for the low-energy bombardment of noble metal atoms on Au (1 1 1). The incident-energy dependence of defect yields is obviously different for the subplantation and implantation of projectiles. Based on our MD simulations, we discuss the influence of low-energy bombardment on film growth and the guide to the search for optimum deposition parameters.