Many-body effects in the Si(111)7×7 reconstructed surface

A two-dimensional Hubbard Hamiltonian is introduced in order to analyse the many-body effects associated with a dangling bond Si(111) 7×7 surface state located at the Fermi energy. Our results indicate that many-body effects can offer an explanation of recently reported experimental data.     

Investigation of the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface by second-harmonic generation: Oxidation and the effects of surface phosphorus

We have studied the initial stages of oxidation, the temperature dependence of the surface electronic structure, and the effect of phosphorus on oxidation of the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface using optical second-harmonic generation. We have also observed a (√3 × √3)R30° LEED pattern due to surface reconstruction induced by < 0.5% P on Si(111).     

Influence of the Si(111)-7×7 surface reconstruction on the diffusion of strontium atoms

The diffusion of strontium atoms on the Si(111) surface at room temperature has been investigated using scanning tunnel microscopy and simulation carried out in terms of the density functional theory and the Monte Carlo method. It has been found that the reconstruction of a clean silicon surface with a 7 × 7 structure has a profound effect on the diffusion process. The average velocity of motion of a strontium atom in a unit cell of the 7 × 7 structure has been calculated. The main diffusion paths of a strontium atom and the corresponding activation energies have been determined. It has been demonstrated that the formation of scanning tunnel microscope images of the Si(111)-7 × 7 surface with adsorbed strontium atoms is significantly affected by the shift of the electron density from the strontium atom to the nearest neighbor silicon adatoms in the 7 × 7 structure.     

Oscillatory diffusion in gold submonolayers over the Si(111)7 × 7 surface

A gold-deposited area of 0.1 mm diameter and several monolayers thick on the Si(111)7 × 7 surface is annealed at 700° C. In the diffusion process, the concentric oscillatory rings of the √3 × √3 and 5 × 1 structures are formed in an area of 0.4 mm diameter and observed by the dark field image in scanning LEED microscopy in an ultra-high vacuum. The diffusion is apparently independent of surface steps and crystallographic orientation from a macroscopic viewpoint. The formation of the periodic rings with the different surface structures and coverages is interpreted by using the surface diffusion equation and regarded as an intermediate phase prior to achieving the equilibrium state.     

Formation of ultrathin magnetic cobalt films on the Si(111)7 × 7 surface

The phase composition, electronic structure, and magnetic properties of ultrathin cobalt films (no thicker than 20 ?) applied on a Si(111)7 × 7 surface at room temperature are studied by high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation and magnetic linear dichroism. It is shown that, as the cobalt thickness increases, first interface cobalt silicide and then an island (discontinuous) film of silicon-in-cobalt solid solution form on the silicon surface. A metal cobalt film starts growing after the deposition of a ∼7-?-thick Co layer. It is found that the ferromagnetic ordering of the system, which is characterized by surface magnetization, sets in after the deposition of a ∼6-?-Co layer at the stage of Co-Si solid solution formation.     

Peculiarities of the initial stage of growth of niobium-based nanostructures on a Si(111)-7 × 7 surface

The initial stage of growth of nanoislands prepared by thermal deposition of niobium on the reconstructed surface of Si(111)-7 × 7 in ultrahigh vacuum is experimentally investigated. The morphological and electrophysical properties of niobium-based nanostructures are studied by means of low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. It is found that upon the deposition of niobium on a substrate at room temperature, clusters and nanoislands are formed on the silicon surface, having a characteristic lateral size of 10 nm with the metallic type of tunneling conductivity at low temperatures. Upon the deposition of niobium on a heated substrate, quasi-one-dimensional (1D) and quasi-two-dimensional (2D) structures with typical lateral dimensions of up to 200 nm and three-dimensional pyramidal islands with semiconducting type of tunneling conductivity at low temperatures are formed.     

Observation of a line growth fault on the Si(111)-7 × 7 surface using STM

Using a scanning tunnelling microscope we have observed an interesting new fault on the Si(111)-7 × 7 surface, corresponding to an adatom registry shift of 1 bulk unit cell in the [1̄1̄2] direction. We propose a model to account for the structure along the fault.     

Second harmonic response of the Si(111)7 × 7 surface

Optical second harmonic generation spectra have been experimentally obtained from a clean Si(111) 7 × 7 in two different polarization configurations isolating the rotational anisotropic and isotropic contributions. The energy of the fundamental photon is varied from 0.8 eV to 2.5 eV. For comparison, we also use a microscopic formulation based on the semi-empirical tight binding method to evaluate the nonlinear surface susceptibility tensor χ(2ω). Good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained with respect to the number of resonances, their position in energy, and surface or bulk character.     

Site discrimination of adatoms in Si(111)-7 × 7 by noncontact atomic force microscopy

Site discrimination of adatoms in Si(111)-7 × 7 by dynamic mode noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) in ultrahigh vacuum has been demonstrated. At a fixed frequency shift, NC-AFM images were acquired at various amplitudes. At amplitudes less than 30 nm_p-p, no atomic image was observed. At 33 nm_p-p, clearly resolved atomic images showed 6 bright atoms in one half of each 7 × 7 unit cell and 6 less bright atoms in the other half of each unit cell. Furthermore, the corner adatoms were observed to be higher. At 36 nm_p-p, such differences were not observed. The observed site differences are not derived by the differences in the actual positions of adatoms, but by the differences in the interactions between the atom at the AFM tip apex and the adatoms on the Si surface.     

STM study of nucleation of Ag on Si(111)−(7 × 7) surface

Initial stages of Ag on Si(111)−(7 × 7) surface nucleation were studied at submonolayer coverage. Samples were prepared by thermal evaporation of Ag from tungsten wire under UHV conditions (p<2.5 × 10⁻⁸ Pa). Various deposition rates (0.002–0.1 ML s⁻¹) were used to prepare Ag island films with coverages (0.002–2) ML (1 ML ≈ 7.58 × 10¹⁴ atoms cm⁻²) at room temperature. We observed preferential growth on faulted half unit cells (F cells). At constant coverage both the island density and ratio of occupied F and U (unfaulted) cells are independent of the deposition rate, which is an evidence for dominant influence of substrate structure. The preference of nucleation in the F cells against U cells decreases with the coverage until the ratio is 1:1 for 1 ML Ag film. We have observed that presence of an Ag island in any type of the half unit cell (F or U) considerably reduces nucleation probability in neighbouring cells. This results in forming of structural patterns observed among randomly grown Ag-islands which is a new feature found for Ag/Si(111)−(7 × 7) system. Presented at the VIII-th Symposium on Surface Physics, Třešt’ Castle, Czech Republic, June 28 – July 2, 1999. This work was supported by the Grant Agency of Charles University — projects GAUK 34/97 and 147/99, by the Grant Agency of Czech Republic — project GAČR 202/97/1109 and by the Ministry of Education grant VS 97116.     

Diffusion of Au atoms and (5×2) phase formation on the Si(111) (7×7) surface

In this article we investigate the complex 1D mesoscopic model of adatom diffusion and the evolution of an ordered phase on the substrate surface. The analysis of the theoretical model is compared with the experimental results of the spreading of Au adatoms on Si(111)-(7×7) surface. The steady state solutions and their stability conditions are determined within the concept of the traveling-wave solution. It is shown that the formation of the ordered phase (5×2) and the difference in the diffusion of Au on (7×7) and on (5×2) structure results in a sharp edge of diffusion front which corresponds to the coverage of a saturated (5×2) phase. This edge moves linearly in time and α can be determined by experiment. The system of model equations enables the damped waves solution or temporary evolution of two steps.     

A straight domain boundary of single-atom width on a Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface

Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we have observed an antiphase domain boundary of single-atom width on a Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface. The extra row of adatoms forming the boundary lies on the unfaulted half of the 7 × 7 unit cell, in agreement with total energy calculations using the first-principles self-consistent pseudofunction method. The filled-state STM image shows a missing interior adatom on the unfaulted half, in agreement with calculations of the partial density of states of an adatom surrounded by three rest-atoms.     

Initial stage of Pd adsorption on Si(111)7 × 7 surface studied by AES and EELS

The initial stage of adsorption of Pd on a Si(111)7 × 7 surface has been studied by means of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and surface work-function change. For Pd deposition at room temperature (RT) the Si(LVV) Auger signal intensity decays in a broken linear line. The structure factor, defined as the intensity ratio of the subpeak to the main one in Si(LVV) Auger spectra, increases up to a maximum around one monolayer coverages. In EELS spectra two peaks, characteristics of Pd, appear at the completion of the first Pd layer. Pd atoms deposited on Si(111) at RT form initially flat layers of a few monolayers height without mixing with substrate Si atoms. For Pd deposition at a moderately high temperature (MT) of about 300°C, however, the structure factor for Si(LVV) Auger spectra does not change. EELS peaks, characteristic of Si substrate, remain clearly even beyond one monolayer coverage. Pd atoms deposited at MT are unstable and easily diffuse into the bulk. We present evidences to support the “screening” model for the bond-breaking mechanism at the Pd/Si interface.     

Processes of silicide formation in the Fe/Si(111)7 × 7 system

The initial stages of the formation of iron silicides in the Fe/Si(111)7 × 7 system in the course of solid-phase epitaxy are investigated using high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy (～100 meV) with synchrotron radiation. The spectra of the Si 2p core and valence-band electrons obtained after deposition of iron coverages of up to 28 monolayers on the surface of the sample and subsequent isochronous annealings at 650°C are measured and analyzed. It is shown that the first to form under Fe deposition is an ultrathin film of the metastable silicide FeSi with a CsCl-type structure, on which a layer of the Fe-Si solid solution with segregated silicon grows. At coverages in excess of 10 monolayers, an iron film grows on the surface of the sample. Annealing of a silicon crystal coated with a Fe layer leads to the sequential formation of two stable silicide phases, namely, the ?-FeSi and β-FeSi₂ phases, in the near-surface region of the sample. It is found that the process of solid-phase synthesis of the ?-FeSi phase passes through the stage of transformation of the iron film into the Fe-Si solid solution.     

The adsorption of PH3 on the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface: an example of autocatalytic dissociative chemisorption

The dissociative chemisorption of phosphine, PH₃, on the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface has been examined employing supersonic molecular beam techniques. The initial probability of reaction, S_R,0, has been found to be sensitive to substrate temperature, T_s, where S_R,0 increases sharply by approximately a factor of 4–5 as T_s is increased above 800°C, which corresponds well with the (7 × 7) ↔ “(1 × 1)” phase transition. The reaction probability, S_R, measured as a function of dose for PH₃ reacting on Si(111)-(7 × 7) at T_s < 800°C, exhibits a dramatic increase as the surface is exposed to the PH₃ molecular beam. This unique autocatalytic behavior is consistent with a mechanism in which submonolayer coverages of P(a) are capable of lifting the (7 × 7) reconstruction thus giving rise to a more reactive “(1 × 1)-like” phase. The reaction probability of Si₂H₆ on Si(111)-(7 × 7) is also observed to pass through a maximum with increasing P(a) coverages, and can be explained by considering similar changes in surface structure and reactivity.     

Formation of Br-terminated Si6 rings during etching of Si(111)-7 × 7

Scanning tunneling microscopy was used to study the morphological evolution of Si(111)-7 × 7 exposed to molecular bromine. Etching at 900 K results in the removal of adatoms and conversion from the 7 × 7 surface to a 1 × 1 Br-terminated structure. Removal is dominated by bilayer step retreat with edge profiles that reflect etching anisotropies. Unique structures attributed to regrowth of Si released during step etching were consistent with six-membered Si rings terminated with Br. The distribution of such rings near the steps reflects the local bonding and etching anisotropies for the steps. Theoretical analyses of these rings terminated with Cl determine bond lengths, bond angles, and charge transfer within the ring.     

Atomic geometry of Si(111) 7×7 by dynamical low-energy electron diffraction

A complete determination of individual atomic coordinates for the Si(111) 7×7 surface has been carried out by dynamical low-energy electron diffraction. The dimer-adatom-stacking fault (DAS) model, after large vertical and lateral relaxations, was found to produce calculated spectra in remarkably good agreement with the data. Atoms in the faulted half of the unit cell are raised from those of the unfaulted half. Adatoms at corner sites are higher than those at center sites.     

Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of Au clusters on Si(111)-7 × 7 surface

Self-assembled growth of Au nanoclusters on the Si(111)-7 × 7 surface has been studied using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. A model considering various atomic processes of deposition, adsorption, diffusion, nucleation, and aggregation is introduced, and the main energetic parameters are optimized based on the experimental results. The evolution of surface morphology during Au growth is simulated in real time, from which the atomic behaviors of Au could be really captured. Most of Au atoms diffuse on the substrate in the very early stage of growth, and Au clusters nucleate and grow with the increasing coverage. The competition among various atomic processes results in the distinct distribution of Au clusters under different coverages. The growth conditions are further optimized, showing that the higher uniformity of Au clusters would be obtained at a low deposition rate and an optimal substrate temperature of about 380 K.