STM investigation of the adsorption and temperature dependent reactions of ethylene on Pt(111)

The adsorption and reactions of ethylene adsorbed in UHV on Pt(111) have been studied as a function of temperature by STM. The STM images taken at 160K show an ordered structure of adsorbed ethylene. Annealing to 300 K produces ethylidyne (C-CH₃) irreversibly, as has been demonstrated by a wide variety of surface science techniques. The ethylidyne on Pt(111) is not visible to the STM at room temperature. Cooling the sample allows direct observation of the ethylidyne ordered structure by STM. Annealing above 430 K results in further dehydrogenation, eventually leaving only carbon on the surface. The decomposition products appear as small clusters which are localized and uniformly distributed over the surface. Further annealing to temperatures >800 K results in the growth of graphite islands on the Pt(111) surface. The annealed graphite islands exhibit several supersturctures with lattice parameters of up to 22 Å, which are thought to result from the higher order commensurability with the Pt(111) substrate at different relative rotations.     

Internal structure of C60 fullerence molecules as revealed by low-temperature STM

We have performed Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) in ultra-high vacuum at low temperatures (5 and 50K) of unordered and ordered C₆₀ layers adsorbed on a Au(110) surface. STM topographs of the frozen C₆₀ molecules reveal four symmetric patterns within single molecules, which may be associated with different orientations of the fullerenes on a highly corrugated gold substrate.     

Investigation of the icosahedral quasicrystal Al68Pd23Mn9 by LEED and STM

The surface of icosahedral Al₆₈Pd₂₃Mn₉ was investigated by Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM). Fivefold symmetric LEED patterns of this three dimensional (3D) quasicrystal were analysed in terms of the Fourier transform of a Fibonacci pentagrid. High resolution STM images of this surface prove the quasicrystalline nature ofi-Al₆₈Pd₂₃Mn₉ both laterally and vertically. Atomically flat terraces with nm-sized fivefold symmetric objects like fivefold stars and pentagonal holes were observed in real space. A Fibonacci pentagrid connecting the pentagonal holes was found to have line separations, which are within experimental errors identical to those derived from LEED data. The terraces are separated by steps of two incommensurable heights, whose succession forms part of the Fibonacci sequence. Cutting a 6D lattice yields lateral separations and step heights in 3D space, which agree with the experimentally determined values.     

Atomic-scale structure of dislocations revealed by scanning tunneling microscopy and molecular dynamics

The intersection between dislocations and a Ag(111) surface has been studied using an interplay of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and molecular dynamics. Whereas the STM provides atomically resolved information about the surface structure and Burgers vectors of the dislocations, the simulations can be used to determine dislocation structure and orientation in the near-surface region. In a similar way, the subsurface structure of other extended defects can be studied. The simulations show dislocations to reorient the partials in the surface region leading to an increased splitting width at the surface, in agreement with the STM observations. Implications for surface-induced cross slip are discussed.     

Thermo-stimulated surface segregation in the ordering alloy Pt80Co20(1 1 1): Experiment and modeling

In this paper, a method of Ionization Spectroscopy (IS) is proposed for the non-destructive layer-by-layer analysis of the elemental composition of a solid surface. Using ionization energy loss spectra, a layer-by-layer concentration profile of the Pt₈₀Co₂₀(1 1 1) alloy surface is obtained for different annealing temperatures. For the disordered Pt₈₀Co₂₀(1 1 1) at room temperature, the first atomic layer consists of pure Pt with damped oscillations in the deeper layers. Heating the sample reduces the oscillations. However, at a temperature of 823 K, a sandwich-like structure of the type Pt/Co/Pt was found in the first three atomic layers. For the ordered state the first atomic layer also consists of pure Pt with bulk concentration in other layers. LEED analysis shows a p(2 × 2) superstructure for the surface of the ordered Pt₈₀Co₂₀(1 1 1) alloy. The segregation behavior in this alloy is further studied by Monte Carlo (MC) simulations combined with the Constant Bond Energy (CBE) model. The results of the MC simulations agree well with the experiments at the higher temperatures, both for the surface composition and the concentration depth profile. At lower temperatures, some discrepancies exist between the MC results and the measured concentration profile.     

Atomic structure of the carbon induced Si(0 0 1)-c(4 × 4) surface

The atomic and electronic structures of the Si(0 0 1)-c(4 × 4) surface have been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT). To explain the experimental bias dependent STM observations, a modified mixed ad-dimer reconstruction model is introduced. The model involves three tilted Si dimers and a carbon atom incorporated into the third subsurface layer per c(4 × 4) unit cell. The calculated STM images show a close resemblance to the experimental ones.     

On the influence of the surface roughness onto the ultrathin SiO2/Si structure properties

The surface roughness of the semiconductor substrate substantially influences properties of the whole semiconductor/oxide structure. SiO₂/Si structures were prepared by using low temperature nitric acid oxidation of silicon (NAOS) method and then the whole structure was passivated by the cyanidization procedure. The influence of the surface morphology of the silicon substrate onto the electrical properties of ultrathin NAOS SiO₂ layer was investigated. Surface height function properties were studied by the AFM method and electrical properties were studied by the STM method. The complexity of analyzed surface structure was sensitive to the oxidation and passivation steps. For describing changes in the oxide layer structure, several fractal measures in an analysis of the STM images were used. This fractal geometry approach enables quantifying the fine spatial changes in the tunneling current spectra.     

Dislocation generation in silicon grown laterally over SiO2 by liquid phase epitaxy

Epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) on thermally oxidized and patterned (111) Si is effected by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE). It produces Si layers spreading out on the amorphous SiO₂ which are either perfectly grown defect-free or, coexisting, defective layers containing dislocations. High voltage electron microscopy of the defective layers reveals regular arrangements of the dislocations which result from glide and multiplication processes governed by the elastic interactions between the dislocations. The nucleation of the first dislocations during the ELO process is attributed to a slight warping of the substrates. A corresponding bending of the epitaxial layer induces mechanical stress, which may exceed the critical value at the oxide edges of the seeding windows where the first dislocations nucleate. The characteristics of the dislocation arrangements and lattice imaging results support this model. Suggestions are made for ways to reduce stress and, thus, avoid dislocation formation.     

Microstructures of grain boundaries in (001)-oriented strontium bismuth tantalate thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

(001)-oriented strontium bismuth tantalate thin films have been grown on Pt/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si (100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The room-temperature current–electric field dependence of the films has been investigated, which revealed a space-charge-limited conduction mechanism. The microstructures of grain boundaries and structural defects in these films were also examined by transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The grains of the films deposited at 550 °C exhibited polyhedral morphologies, and the average grain size was about 50 nm in length and 35 nm in width. At a small misorientation angle (8.2°) tilt boundary, a regular array of edge dislocations with about 3-nm periodic distance was observed, and localized strain contrast near the dislocation cores was also observed. The Burgers vector b of the edge dislocation was determined to be [110]. At a high misorientation angle (39.0°) tilt grain boundary lattice strain contrast associated with the distortion of lattice planes was observed, and the mismatching lattice images occurred at about 2 nm along the boundary. The relationship between microstructural defects at grain boundaries and leakage currents of these films is also discussed. Received: 8 September 2000 / Accepted: 18 December 2000 / Published online: 28 February 2001     

Electronic structure and topography of annealed SrTiO3(1 1 1) surfaces studied with MIES and STM

Perovskites of ABO₃ type like strontium titanate (SrTiO₃) are of great practical concern as materials for oxygen sensors operating at high temperatures. It is well known that the surface layer shows different properties compared to the bulk. Numerous studies exist for the SrTiO₃(1 0 0) and (1 1 0) surfaces which have investigated the changes in the electronic structure and topography as a function of the preparation conditions. They have indicated a rather complex behaviour of the surface and the near surface region of SrTiO₃ at elevated temperatures. Up to now, the behaviour of the SrTiO₃(1 1 1) surfaces under thermal treatment is not sufficiently known. This contribution is intended to work out the relation between alteration of the surface topography with respect to the preparation conditions and the simultaneous changes of the electronic structure. We applied scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to investigate the surface topography and, additionally, metastable impact electron spectroscopy (MIES) to study the surface electronic structure of reconstructed SrTiO₃(1 1 1) surfaces. The crystals were heated up to 1000 °C under reducing and oxidizing conditions. Both preparation conditions cause strong changes of the surface topography and electronic structure. A microfaceting of the topmost layers is found.     

The surface structure of icosahedral Al68Pd23Mn9 measured by STM and LEED

For the first time the surface structure of an icosahedral quasicrystal has been successfully investigated in Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV) by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) and Low-Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED). After cleaning an i-Al₆₈Pd₂₃Mn₉ sample in UHV by cycles of ion-sputtering and annealing at temperatures close to the melting point atomically flat terraces are observed by STM. Successive step heights show quasiperiodic order according to the Fibonacci chain. The normals of these terraces are parallel to a five-fold axis as revealed by highly resolved STM images. On the terraces five-fold stars and pentagonal holes are observed. Their orientation is the same on all terraces investigated. Additionally to this long-range orientational order, a high degree of quasiperiodic order is found for the pentagonal holes. This indicates that the quasiperiodic order of this highly ordered and thermodynamically stable quasicrystal extends even up to the surface. Both the step heights and the distances between the pentagonal holes well agree with the values derived from a structural model of this material. Five-fold symmetric LEED patterns can be analysed by means of the Fourier transform of a Fibonacci pentagrid as suggested by the STM data. The analysis yields the same line separations within the pentagrid as deduced from the STM experiments.     

Reaction products and oxide thickness formed by Ti out-diffusion and oxidization in poly-Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si with oxide films deposited

In the paper, we present experimental results to enhance the understanding of Ti out-diffusion and oxidization in commercial poly-Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si wafers with perovskite oxide films deposited when heat-treated in flowing oxygen ambient. It indicates that when heat-treated at 550 and 600 °C, PtTi₃+PtTi and PtTi are the reaction products from interfacial interaction, respectively; while heat-treated at 650 °C and above, the products become three layers of titanium oxides instead of the alloys. Confirmed to be rutile TiO₂, the first two layers spaced by 65 nm encapsulate the Pt surface by the first layer with 60 nm thick forming at its surface and by the next layer with 35 nm thick inserting its original layer. In addition, the next layer is formed as a barrier to block up continuous diffusion paths of Ti, and thus results in the last layer of TiO_2−x formed by the residual Ti oxidizing.     

Interplay of surface morphology, strain relief, and surface stress during surfactant mediated epitaxy of Ge on Si

Lattice-mismatch-induced surface or film stress has significant influence on the morphology of heteroepitaxial films. This is demonstrated using Sb surfactant-mediated epitaxy of Ge on Si(111). The surfactant forces a two-dimensional growth of a continous Ge film instead of islanding. Two qualitatively different growth regimes are observed. Elastic relaxation: Prior to the generation of strain-relieving defects the Ge film grows pseudomorphically with the Si lattice constant and is under strong compressive stress. The Ge film relieves strain by forming a rough surface on a nm scale which allows partial elastic relaxation towards the Ge bulk lattice constant. The unfavorable increase of surface area is outbalanced by the large decrease of strain energy. The change of film stress and surface morphology is monitored in situ during deposition at elevated temperature with surface stress-induced optical deflection and high-resolution spot profile analysis low-energy electron diffraction. Plastic relaxation: After a critical thickness the generation of dislocations is initiated. The rough phase acts as a nucleation center for dislocations. On Si(111) those misfit dislocations are arranged in a threefold quasi periodic array at the interface that accommodate exactly the different lattice constants of Ge and Si. Received: 1 April 1999 / Accepted: 17 August 1999 / Published online: 6 October 1999     

Nanoscale dislocation patterning in Bi(1 1 1)/Si(0 0 1) heteroepitaxy

Continuous, atomically flat, and epitaxial Bi(1 1 1) films could be grown on Si(0 0 1). The inherent strain of 2.3% between the Bi(1 1 1) and Si(0 0 1) lattices is relieved by the formation of a grating like one-dimensional misfit dislocation array at the heterointerface. The lattice distortions around each dislocation give rise to a pronounced height depression Δh = 0.12 nm of the surface, which results in a spot splitting in low-energy electron diffraction and a height contrast in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Using STM surface profiles across these depressions, the Burgers vector of the underlying isolated non-interacting dislocations is estimated to be 0.377 nm. For thicker Bi films the ordering of the dislocation network is increased. This reflects an increase of repulsive interaction between neighboring dislocations.     

热应力作用降低LPE层中的位错

提出由温差造成热剪切应力,引起衬底穿线位错滑移,形成<110>界面位错,从而降低LPE层中位错的模型。稳定自然对流下的温度梯度液相外延,存在衬底厚度方向的温差,能在边缘固定的衬底中造成热剪切应力。生长了厚GaAs和Ga_1-xAl_xAs层(x<0.3),估算的热剪切应力大于产生<110>暗线缺陷的临界剪切应力。表面腐蚀坑观察表明,外延层位错密度下降,或无位错。界面蚀槽和阴极荧光观察表明,衬底穿线位错在界面弯曲成<110>界面位错。透射电子显微镜观察表明,界面位错多 关键词：     

Structure of PtFe/Fe double-period multilayers investigated by X-ray diffraction, reflectivity, diffuse scattering and TEM

Double-period [(Pt 1.7 nm/Fe 0.9 nm)₅Fe(t_Fe2)]₈ and [(Pt 1.8 nm/Fe 0.6 nm)₅Fe(t_Fe2)]₈ multilayers with different thickness t_Fe2 (between 0.23 and 4.32 nm) of the additional Fe layers, prepared by combinatorial sputter deposition, show differences in the mosaic spread and the vertical interfacial roughness when deposited on native or thermally oxidised Si wafers. Simulations of the wide-angle X-ray scattering intensities revealed the presence of interdiffusion in the (Pt/Fe)₅ bilayers and systematic variations of the grain sizes, perpendicular to the film surface, as well as the rms variations of the two superlattice periods with the total film thickness. A comparison of ω-rocking scans shows an increase of the correlated vertical roughness of the (Pt/Fe)₅ multilayers with the total multilayer thickness.     

磷酸铝(AlPO4)晶体中缺陷的X射线形貌研究

用X射线衍射形貌法研究了AlPO₄晶体中的微观缺陷。在所研究的晶体中,主要晶体缺陷是生长层,沉淀物和位错。位错密度在晶体表面附近最大,晶体中部较低。位错主要起源于热应力和由沉淀物或生长层所造成的晶格畸变。多数位错的柏氏矢量是b=(a+c)<1123>型,部分的是b=a[2110]。分析了晶体缺陷与生长条件之间的关系。控制生长过程中的温度波动,特别是晶体出炉时的冷却速度,对提高晶体完美性是重要的。 关键词：     

Misfit dislocations in gold/Permalloy multilayers

Several groups have reported the misfit dislocation structures in Au/Ni_0.8Fe_0.2 multilayers where the lattice parameter misfit is very large. To explore the factors controlling such structures, molecular dynamics simulations have been used to simulate the vapour-phase growth of (111)-oriented Au/Ni_0.8Fe_0.2 multilayers. The simulations revealed the formation of misfit dislocations at both the gold-on-Ni_0.8Fe_0.2 and the Ni_0.8Fe_0.2-on-gold interfaces. The dislocation configuration and density were found to be in good agreement with previously reported high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations. Additional atomic-scale simulations of a model nickel–gold system indicated that dislocations are nucleated as the first nickel layer is deposited on gold. These dislocations have an (a/6)?112? Burgers vector, typical of a Shockley partial dislocation. Each dislocation creates an extra {220} plane in the smaller lattice parameter nickel layer. These misfit-type dislocations effectively relieve misfit strain. The results also indicated that the dislocation structure is insensitive to the energy of the depositing atoms. Manipulation of the deposition processes is therefore unlikely to reduce this component of the defect population.     

Hydrogen-induced metallization on Ge(1 1 1) c(2 × 8)

We have studied hydrogen adsorption on the Ge(1 1 1) c(2 × 8) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES). We find that atomic hydrogen preferentially adsorbs on rest atom sites. The neighbouring adatoms appear higher in STM images, which clearly indicates a charge transfer from the rest atom states to the adatom states. The surface states near the Fermi-level have been followed by ARPES as function of H exposure. Initially, there is strong emission from the rest atom states but no emission at the Fermi-level which confirms the semiconducting character of the c(2 × 8) surface. With increasing H exposure a structure develops in the close vicinity of the Fermi-level. The energy position clearly indicates a metallic character of the H-adsorbed surface. Since the only change in the STM images is the increased brightness of the adatoms neighbouring a H-terminated rest atom, we identify the emission at the Fermi-level with these adatom states.     

LiNbO3和LiTaO3单晶体中亚晶界位错结构的研究

本文应用透射法和超显微法对用金缀饰后的LiNbO₃和LiTaO₃单晶体进行了直接观测,观察到两种晶体中亚晶界的三维面貌,对亚晶界进行了极图分析,并进一步用Frank公式进行了定量验证。通过对位错网及三叉亚晶界的分析,表明该类晶体中存在的位错的Burgers矢量是:最短点阵平移矢量——六角晶胞的基矢<1210>,次短点阵平移矢量——菱胞基矢1/3<0111>,以及再次短点阵平移矢量——菱胞短体对角线分1/3<2021>。 关键词：