Embedded Co islands on Ge(001)

The adsorption of Cobalt (Co) on Germanium (Ge) (001) surfaces has been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy. Upon annealing at temperatures of 500–550 K well-ordered rectangular shaped embedded islands are formed. Based on our scanning tunneling microscopy data we propose that the elementary building block of these embedded islands consist of six Co atoms arranged in a hexagonal pattern. A statistical analysis reveals that the embedded Co islands exhibit an attractive interaction in a direction perpendicular to the substrate dimer rows and a repulsive interaction in a direction along the substrate dimer rows. The embedded Co islands eventually convert to perfectly straight and micrometers long nanowires upon annealing at temperatures that exceed 700–750 K.     

Dome-to-pyramid transition induced by alloying of Ge islands on Si(001)

Received: 19 October 1998/Accepted: 19 October 1998     

Endoepitaxial growth of hexagonal-Fe13Ge8 islands on Cubic-Ge(001)

The growth and shape evolution of epitaxial Fe₁₃Ge₈ (hexagonal lattice) islands on single crystal Ge(001) (cubic lattice) substrate was observed in real time using an in situ ultra-high vacuum transmission electron microscope (TEM). Post-deposition high-resolution TEM in conjunction with stereographic projection enabled the identification of the interface structure between the Fe₁₃Ge₈ islands and the Ge substrate. Only one low-energy coherent interface formed via Fe₁₃Ge₈ islands growing into the substrate along the inclined Ge(11?1) plane. This indicates that minimization of net interfacial energy is the driving force for hexagonal Fe₁₃Ge₈ islands formation on Ge(001).     

Second-harmonic spectroscopy of Ge/Si(001) and Si1-xGex(001)/Si(001)

0.9 Ge_0.1(001)/Si(001) films with SH photon energies 3.1<2hν<3.5 eV near the bulk E₁ critical point of Si(001) or Si_0.9Ge_0.1(001). Ge was deposited on Si(001) by using atomic layer epitaxy cycles with GeH₄ or Ge₂H₆ deposition at 410 K followed by hydrogen desorption. As Ge coverage increased from 0 to 2 monolayers the SH signal increased uniformly by a factor of seven with no detectable shift in the silicon E₁ resonant peak position. SH signals from Si_0.9Ge_0.1(001)/Si(001) were also stronger than those from intrinsic Si(001). Hydrogen termination of the Si_0.9Ge_0.1(001) and Ge/Si(001) surfaces strongly quenched the SH signals, which is similar to the reported trend on H/Si(001). We attribute the stronger signals from Ge-containingsurfaces to the stronger SH polarizability of asymmetric Ge-Si and Ge-Ge dimers compared to Si-Si dimers. Hydrogen termination symmetrizes all dimers, thus quenching the SH polarizability of all of the surfaces investigated. Received: 13 October 1998 / Revised version: 18 January 1999     

Towards quantitative understanding of formation and stability of Ge hut islands on Si(001)

We analyze Ge hut island formation on Si(001), using first-principles calculations of energies, stresses, and their strain dependence of Ge/Si(105) and Ge/Si(001) surfaces combined with continuum modeling. We give a quantitative assessment on strain stabilization of Ge(105) facets, estimate the critical size for hut nucleation or formation, and evaluate the magnitude of surface stress discontinuity at the island's edge and its effect on island stability.     

Photoelectron spectroscopy on Pt atoms and clusters deposited on C(0001)

An experimental photoelectron spectroscopy study is presented highlighting several aspects of importance for the study of deposited metal clusters and particles with photoemission. It is shown that the Fermi level is the correct energy reference for the core level binding energies. The choice of different deposition conditions, well within the range of soft landing, has a strong impact on the outcome of the spectroscopic experiments. Single adatoms as well as clusters deposited with some excess energy display relatively narrow core level spectra at much lower binding energies than previously reported, even when atomic mass selection is not performed. In contrast, single sized Pt₁₉ clusters, deposited onto a thin Ar film before being exposed to the graphite surface show spectral broadening and shifts to higher binding energies. We discuss our results in terms of the cluster substrate interaction and the influence of deposition conditions on the metal adsorbate structure.     

Structural phase transition on Si(001) and Ge(001) surfaces

Among a variety of solid surfaces, Si(001) and Ge(001) have been most extensively studied. Although they seem to be rather simple systems, there have been many conflicting arguments about the atomic structure on these surfaces. We first present experimental evidence indicating that the buckled dimer is the basic building block and that the structural phase transition between the low-temperature c(4x2) structure and the high-temperature (2x1) structure is of the order-disorder type. We then review recent theoretical work on this phase transition. The real system is mapped onto a model Ising-spin system and the interaction parameters are derived from total-energy calculations for different arrangements of buckled dimers. The calculated critical temperature agrees reasonably well with the experimental one. It is pointed out that the nature of the phase transition is crucially affected by a small amount of defects on the real surfaces.     

Cobalt induced nanocrystals on Ge(001)

The deposition of several monolayers of cobalt on germanium (001) substrates results in the formation of two types of clusters: flat-topped and peaked nanocrystals. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy and helium ion microscopy measurements reveal that these nanocrystals contain cobalt. The shape evolution of the flat-topped and peaked nanocrystals as a function of their size is investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy. For small sizes the nanocrystals are compact. Beyond a critical size, however, the peaked nanocrystals exhibit an elongated shape, whilst the flat-topped nanocrystals remain compact. The shape transition of the peaked nanocrystals is driven by a competition between boundary and strain energies. For small sizes the boundary energy is the dominant term leading to a minimization of the peaked nanocrystal's perimeter, whereas at larger sizes the strain energy wins resulting in a maximization of the perimeter. On the top facet of the flat-topped nanocrystals one-dimensional structures are observed that are comprised of small square shaped units of about 1 nm². Time-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy measurements reveal that these square shaped units are dynamic at room temperature.     

Formation of coherent Ge shallow dome islands on Si(001) by ultra-high-vacuum ion beam sputter deposition

Low-temperature (∼ 400 °C) metal-induced crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon–germanium thin films using Au solution has been investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. It was shown that Au solution significantly promotes the crystallization of the films at low temperatures. The effects of annealing temperature, Ge fraction in the films and the concentration of Au solution on the structure and morphology of the films were analyzed. An increase in crystallinity was observed on increasing the annealing temperature and concentration of Au solution. High-frequency shifts of Ge-Ge and Si-Ge modes and a low-frequency shift of the Si-Si mode were found on increasing the Ge fraction. Compared with Au-induced crystallization, the Au solution induced crystallization tends to give large crystal grains. PACS 81.10.-h; 81.10.Aj; 81.10.Jt; 81.05.Gc; 81.15.Gh     

掺杂对多层Ge/Si(001)量子点光致发光的影响

利用超高真空化学气相沉积设备, 在Si (001) 衬底上外延生长了多个四层Ge/Si量子点样品. 通过原位掺杂的方法, 对不同样品中的Ge/Si量子点分别进行了未掺杂、磷掺杂和硼掺杂. 相比未掺杂的样品, 磷掺杂不影响Ge/Si量子点的表面形貌, 但可以有效增强其室温光致发光; 而硼掺杂会增强Ge/Si量子点的合并, 降低小尺寸Ge/Si量子点的密度, 但其光致发光会减弱. 磷掺杂增强Ge/Si量子点光致发光的原因是, 磷掺杂为Ge/Si量子点提供了更多参与辐射复合的电子. 关键词： Ge/Si量子点 磷掺杂 光致发光     

Dynamics of Au-induced nanowires on Ge(001)

We have studied the dynamics of Au-induced nanowires on Ge(001) using scanning tunnelling microscopy. The ridges of these nanowires consist of buckled dimers that have their dimer bond aligned in a direction perpendicular to the nanowire direction. Neighbouring dimers have a preference to buckle in an opposite direction, leading to rows with a zigzag appearance. Dimers located at anti-phase boundaries continuously flip back and forth between their two buckled configurations. This process is thermally induced and occurs at an average frequency of 25 Hz at room temperature.     

Valence surface electronic states on Ge(001)

The optical, electrical, and chemical properties of semiconductor surfaces are largely determined by their electronic states close to the Fermi level (E{F}). We use scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory to clarify the fundamental nature of the ground state Ge(001) electronic structure near E{F}, and resolve previously contradictory photoemission and tunneling spectroscopy data. The highest energy occupied surface states were found to be exclusively back bond states, in contrast to the Si(001) surface, where dangling bond states also lie at the top of the valence band.     

Ripening of single-layer InGaAs islands on GaAs（001）

The present paper discusses our investigation of InGaAs surface morphology annealed for different lengths of time.After annealing for 15 min,the ripening of InGaAs islands is completed.The real space scanning tunneling microscopy(STM) images show the evolution of InGaAs surface morphology.A half-terrace diffusion theoretical model based on thermodynamic theory is proposed to estimate the annealing time for obtaining flat morphology.The annealing time calculated by the proposed theory is in agreement with the experimental results.     

Influence of the germanium deposition rate on the growth and Photoluminescence of Ge(Si)/Si(001) self-assembled islands

The growth and photoluminescence of Ge(Si)/Si(001) self-assembled islands are investigated over a wide range of germanium deposition rates v_Ge = 0.1–0.75 Å/s at a constant growth temperature T _g = 600°C. Examination of the surface of the grown structures with an atomic force microscope revealed that, for all the germanium deposition rates used in the experiments, the dominant island species are dome islands. It is found that an increase in the deposition rate v_Ge leads to a decrease in the lateral size of the self-assembled islands and an increase in their surface density. The decrease in the lateral size is associated both with the increase in the germanium content in the self-assembled islands and with the increase in the fraction of the surface occupied by these islands. The observed shift in the position of the photoluminescence peak toward the low-energy range is also explained by the increase in the germanium content in the islands with an increase in the deposition rate v_Ge.