Growth mechanisms for wire-like epitaxial gold silicide islands on Si(1 1 0) surfaces

Epitaxial islands grown on various substrates are usually strained because of differences in lattice constants of the materials of the island and the substrate. Shape transition in the growth of strained islands has been proposed as a mechanism for strain relief and a way to form self-organized quantum wires. Shape transition usually leads to an elongated island growth. However, an elongated island growth may also be due to an anisotropic diffusion of material, the anisotropy being imposed by the symmetry of the substrate surface. In the present example, growth of gold silicide wire-like nanostructures on a Si(1 1 0) surface has been investigated by photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). Growth of elongated unidirectional gold silicide islands, with an aspect ratio as large as 12:1, has been observed by PEEM following gold deposition on the Si substrate and subsequent annealing at the Au-Si eutectic temperature. Distribution of the width and the length of the gold silicide islands as a function of island area shows a feature similar to that for the shape transition. However, detailed investigations reveal that the elongated growth of gold silicide islands is rather mainly due to anisotropic diffusion of gold due to the twofold symmetry of the (1 1 0) surface of the Si substrate.     

Self-assembly of three-dimensional metal islands: nonstrained versus strained islands

A theoretical model for the Volmer-Weber growth of three-dimensional metal islands is proposed, with a dipolar island edge-edge interaction. The existence of such an island edge effect makes the island shape dependent on island size. Furthermore, it induces a stable island size against coarsening, leading to self-assembled islands of uniform size. The dependence of the stable island size on total film coverage is shown to be different for nonstrained versus strained islands, in the regime of strong island-island interaction.     

Reversible shape transition of pb islands on Cu(111)

Using low-energy electron microscopy, we have observed a reversible transition in the shape of Pb adatom and vacancy islands on Cu(111). With increasing temperature, circular islands become elongated in one direction. In previous work we have shown that surface stress domain patterns are observed in this system with a characteristic feature size which decreases with increasing temperature. We show that the island shape transition occurs when the ratio of the island size to this characteristic feature size reaches a particular value. The observed critical ratio matches the value expected from stress domains.     

MULTIPLE CLUSTER GROWTH OF ULTRA-THIN FILMS WITH ANISOTROPIC EDGE DIFFUSION

The multiple cluster growth of ultra-thin films on a hexagonal substrate with fractal, dendritic and compact morphology has been studied by computer simulation. The influence of the different diffusion processes along island edges on the island shape has been investigated. The results show that the anisotropic corner diffusion induces the dendritic growth, and the anisotropic step diffusion can promote the anisotropic growth and cause the ramified islands growing in three directions. In the case of compact growth, the island shape is mainly determined by the anisotropic corner crossing process. The nonuniform distribution of the multiple cluster formation can be described quantitatively by multifractal. With patterns changing from fractal to compact islands, the width and height of the bell-like or hook-like multifractal spectra increase, while the top f(α) decreases.     

Control of island formation using overgrowth technique on cleaved edges of strained multiple quantum wells and selective epitaxy on patterned substrates

Two approaches to control the position and the size of semiconductor islands are proposed. The first method is to perform overgrowth on a cleaved edge of strained multiple quantum wells which acts as a substrate with a periodically modulated lattice constant, thus inducing a periodic strain to the overgrown layer. The second method is to selectively grow islands in specific windows defined by electron beam lithography. Both the methods are applied to the Ge/Si system and the controllability of the Ge island formation is demonstrated.     

Au/Cu(001)异质外延岛演化的分子动力学研究

利用分子动力学弛豫方法模拟了Au/Cu(001)异质外延生长初期Au异质外延岛的形貌演化，分析了Au外延岛演化过程中的局域应力及与基体结合能随表面岛尺寸的变化. 研究结果表明：当异质外延岛小于7×7时，外延岛原子分布呈现赝Cu点阵形貌；当外延岛达到8×8后，外延岛内开始出现失配位错，失配位错数量随外延岛尺寸的增加而增加. 局域压力分析指出，外延岛上原子之间的近邻环境不同导致了所受应力的差异，而外延岛的形变则是由外延岛原子的应力分布所决定. 研究还发现，失配位错的产生导致错位原子与基体原子之间的结合强度减弱，但相对增加了非错位原子与基体原子之间的结合强度. 关键词： 异质外延 表面形貌 局域压力 分子动力学模拟     

Equilibrium shape and size of supported heteroepitaxial nanoislands

We study the equilibrium shape, shape transitions and optimal size of strained heteroepitaxial nanoislands with a two-dimensional atomistic model using simply adjustable interatomic pair potentials. We map out the global phase diagram as a function of substrate-adsorbate misfit and interaction. This phase diagram reveals all the phases corresponding to different well-known growth modes. In particular, for large enough misfits and attractive substrate there is a Stranski-Krastanow regime, where nano-sized islands grow on top of wetting films. We analyze the various terms contributing to the total island energy in detail, and show how the competition between them leads to the optimal shape and size of the islands. Finally, we also develop an analytic interpolation formula for the various contributions to the total energy of strained nanoislands.     

Au island growth on a Si(1 1 1) vicinal surface

Au island nucleation and growth on a Si(1 1 1) 7 × 7 vicinal surface was studied by means of scanning tunneling microscopy. The surface was prepared to have a regular array of step bunches. Growth temperature and Au coverage were varied in the 255-430 °C substrate temperature range and from 1 to 7 monolayers, respectively. Two kinds of islands are observed on the surface: Au-Si reconstructed islands on the terraces and three-dimensional (3D) islands along the step bunches. Focusing on the latter, the dependence of island density, size and position on substrate temperature and on Au coverage is investigated. At 340 °C and above, hemispherical 3D islands nucleate systematically on the step edges.     

动力学晶格蒙特卡洛方法模拟Cu薄膜生长

利用动力学晶格蒙特卡洛方法模拟了Cu薄膜在Cu(100)面上的三维生长过程。模型中考虑了四个动力学过程:原子沉积、增原子迁移、双原子迁移和台阶边缘原子迁移,各动力学过程发生的概率由多体势函数确定。讨论了基底温度、沉积速率及原子覆盖率对Cu原子迁移、成核和表面岛生长等微观生长机制的影响;获得了Cu薄膜的表面形貌图并计算了表面粗糙度。模拟结果表明,随基底温度升高或沉积速率下降,岛的平均尺寸增大,数目减少,形状更加规则。低温时,Cu薄膜表现为分形的离散生长,高温时,Cu原子迁移能力增强形成密集的岛。Cu薄膜表面粗糙度随着基底温度的升高而迅速减小;当基底温度低于某一临界温度时,表面粗糙度随原子覆盖率或沉积速率的增大而增大;当基底温度超过临界温度时,表面粗糙度随原子覆盖率或沉积速率的变化很小,基本趋于稳定。     

Formation of quasi-one-dimensional Cu2O structures by in situ oxidation of Cu(100)

Epitaxial Cu2O islands on a Cu(100) surface formed through oxidizing Cu(100) films at 600 degrees C in an ultrahigh vacuum transmission electron microscope were observed to undergo a shape transition from initially square shaped islands to elongated islands at a critical size of approximately 110 nm. Our experimental data on the elongation of Cu2O islands agree with the energetic calculations based on the balance between surface and interface energies and the elastic stress relaxation in the three-dimensional islands. We developed a kinetic model based on oxygen surface diffusion that fits well with the observed volume evolution of the Cu2O islands.     

Scaling regimes for second layer nucleation

Nucleation on top of two-dimensional islands with step edge barriers is investigated using scaling arguments. The nucleation rate is expressed in terms of three basic time scales: the time interval between deposition events, the residence time of atoms on the island, and the encounter time required for atoms forming a stable nucleus to meet. Application to the problem of second layer nucleation on growing first layer islands yields a sequence of scaling regimes with different scaling exponents relating the critical island size, at which nucleation takes place, to the diffusion and deposition rates. Second layer nucleation is fluctuation-dominated, in the sense that the typical number of atoms on the island is small compared to , when the first layer island density exponent satisfies . The upper critical nucleus size, above which the conventional mean field theory of second layer nucleation is valid, increases with decreasing dimensionality. In the related case of nucleation on top of multilayer mounds fluctuation-dominated and mean field like regimes coexist for arbitrary values of the critical nucleus size . Received 4 September 2000     

Stable unidimensional arrays of coherent strained islands

We investigate the equilibrium properties of arrays of coherent strained islands in heteroepitaxial thin films of bidimensional materials. The model we use takes into account only three essential ingredients: surface energies, elastic energies of the film and of the substrate and interaction energies between islands via the substrate. Using numerical simulations for a simple Lennard-Jones solid, we can assess the validity of the analytical expressions used to describe each of these contributions. A simple analytical expression is obtained for the total energy of the system. Minimizing this energy, we show that arrays of coherent islands can exist as stable configurations. Even in this simple approach, the quantitative results turn out to be very sensitive to some details of the surface energy.     

Stress and morphology evolution during island growth

We performed a series of hybrid molecular-dynamics simulations of island growth on a substrate and monitored island stress evolution for several different island/substrate interfacial energies. Smaller (larger) interfacial energy yields islands with a stronger (weaker) compressive stress-thickness product. We present analytical results that suggest that the stress-thickness product is a linear function of the substrate coverage, with slope equal to minus the substrate surface stress, if the island is in mechanical equilibrium, and verify these results with simulation data.     

FORMATIONS OF FRACTAL ISLANDS AGGREGATED WITH DISCS IN GAUSSIAN DISTRIBUTION ON NONLATTICE SUBSTRATES

The growth mechanism of fractal islands on a two-dimensional nonlattice substrate with periodic boundary conditions has been investigated by using Monte Carlo technique. Results show that the fractal dimension d_f of the final ramified islands is almost independent of the diffusion step length, mobility and rigid rotation of the islands. The characteristics of the size distribution of the discs in an island do not change the dimension d_f of the island. However, we find that d_f increases linearly with the surface coverage ρ of the system and its slope decreases with the increase of the mean diameter of the discs.     

Nanowedge island formation on Mo(1 1 0)

The deposition of ultrathin Fe films on the Mo(1 1 0) surface at elevated temperatures results in the formation of distinctive nanowedge islands. The model of island formation presented in this work is based on both experiment and DFT calculations of Fe adatom hopping barriers. Also, a number of classical molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to illustrate fragments of the model. The islands are formed during a transition from a nanostripe morphology at around 2 ML coverage through a Bales-Zangwill type instability. Islands nucleate when the meandering step fronts are sufficiently roughened to produce a substantial overlap between adjacent steps. The islands propagate along the substrate [0 0 1] direction due to anisotropic diffusion/capture processes along the island edges. It was found that the substrate steps limit adatom diffusion and provide heterogeneous nucleation sites, resulting in a higher density of islands on a vicinal surface. As the islands can be several layers thick at their thinnest end, we propose that adatoms entering the islands undertake a so-called “vertical climb” along the sides of the island. This is facilitated by the presence of mismatch-induced dislocations that thread to the sides of the islands and produce local maxima of compressive strain. Dislocation lines also trigger initial nucleation on the surface with 2-3 ML Fe coverage. The sides of the nanowedge islands typically form along low-index crystallographic directions but can also form along dislocation lines or the substrate miscut direction.     

Competing roughening mechanisms in strained heteroepitaxy: a fast kinetic Monte Carlo study

We study the morphological evolution of strained heteroepitaxial films using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations in two dimensions. A novel Green's function approach, analogous to boundary integral methods, is used to calculate elastic energies efficiently. We observe island formation at low lattice misfit and high temperature that is consistent with the Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld instability theory. At high misfit and low temperature, islands or pits form according to the nucleation theory of Tersoff and LeGoues.     

Mechanism and kinetics of early growth stages of a GaN film

The growth of GaN islands on the substrate surface covered with an AlN buffer layer is theoretically investigated at the stages of nucleation and Ostwald ripening in the temperature range 480–1000°C. The following inferences are made from analyzing the results obtained. (1) At temperatures T>650°C, the growth of islands is controlled by the chemical reaction of formation of GaN molecules around the periphery of the island surface. Islands nucleated at these temperatures are characterized by a large spread in their sizes. (2) At temperatures T<600°C, the island growth is governed by the surface diffusion of nitrogen atoms. Islands nucleated at these temperatures are virtually identical in size. (3) In the temperature range 600–650°C, the mechanism of island growth gradually changes over from the mechanism associated with the surface diffusion of nitrogen atoms with a large mean free path to the mechanism determined by the diffusion of gallium atoms with a smaller mean free path. The supersaturation, flux, and size distribution functions of GaN nuclei are calculated at different substrate temperatures. The phase diagrams describing the evolution in the phase composition of GaN islands with variations in temperature are constructed.     

SIMULATION OF MULTIPLE FRACTAL AND COMPACT GROWTH OF ULTRA-THIN FILMS ON HEXAGONAL SUBSTRATE

The multiple cluster growth of ultra-thin films with different deposition rate and different substrate temperature has been studied by kinetic Monte-Carlo simulation. With increasing diffusion rate along cluster edges (corresponding to an increasing substrate temperature), pattern structures change smoothly from fractal islands, compact islands with random shapes, to regular islands, and the average branch width of clusters increases continuously up to some constant value in the compact island limit. The formation of the multiple fractal and compact clusters can be described quantitatively by multifractal. The results of multifractal analysis show that with pattern change from fractal to compact islands, the Hausdorff dimension D₀, the information dimension D₁, and the correlation dimension D₂ decrease, while the width and height of the multifractal spectra increase.     

Photoemission spectroscopy of the strong-coupling superconducting transitions in lead and niobium

Scanning tunneling microscopy on roughened Au(110) reveals that the equilibrium shape of islands and pits on this surface is almondlike: each island contains two smoothly curved steps joined at two sharp corners. This shape has recently been predicted and finds its origin in the missing-row reconstruction of its fcc (110) surfaces (Au, Pt, etc.). We use the corner angles and the island shapes to determine the step energies. In addition we find that during the decay of an island on the Au(110) surface the shape changes and that the disappearance of the island involves the splitting of the layer below the island into two disconnected regions. The shape change has a dramatic influence on the decay rate of the islands.     

Self-assembling of In(Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots on (N11) substrates: the (311)A case

We have investigated the In(Ga)As island formation, in the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode, on (311)A GaAs substrates. The surface topography of InAs and InGaAs strained epilayers was studied by contact microscopies. The different substrate affects the overgrown island shape. In(Ga)As grown on (311)A gives rise to quantum wire-like islands. Quantum dots (QDs), but with highly anisotropic shapes, are the outcomes of InAs deposition. QD samples were also characterized by photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Correlation between optical and morphological properties was observed.