Surface mass transport of Ag and In on vicinal Si(111)

Mass transport of Ag and In on vicinal Si(111) has been investigated by scanning Auger microscopy (SAM). Highly anisotropic surface diffusion and surface electromigration due to direct current were observed for Ag and In adatoms on 0°−, 0.5°−, 3°− and 6°−off vicinal Si(111) surfaces. The diffusion on the intermediate layer is strongly enhanced in the direction parallel to the step edge for Ag adatoms, while it is remarkably suppressed in the direction perpendicular to the step edge for In adatoms. The activation energy of the diffusion for the Ag adatoms ranged between 0.81 and 1.3 eV, while that for In adatoms increased from 0.31 to 0.66 eV with increasing the vicinal angle. The anisotropic diffusion transport is explained in terms of the step structure and the difference in the binding energy at the step site and the terrace site.     

Analysis of interactions between Co adatoms on the vicinal Cu(111) surface

The energies of magnetic interactions between Co adatoms at the vicinal Cu(111) surface are calculated in the framework of the density functional theory using the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker type Green’s functions. It is demonstrated that the interactions between Co adatoms appreciably depend on the distance from a surface step. Our calculations show that the magnitude of the repulsive barrier related to the surface step is larger for Co adatoms located at the upper surface terrace than for those located at the lower surface terrace.     

Surface morphology of InGaAs on GaAs(100) by chemical beam epitaxy using unprecracked monoethylarsine, triethylgallium and trimethylindium

Temperature-dependent evolution of surface corrugation and the interface dislocation in In_0.15Ga_0.85As epilayer on GaAs(100) substrate grown by chemical beam epitaxy using unprecracked monoethylarsine have been investigated by atomic force microscope (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). AFM images showed that the line direction of surface ridge changes from [011] to [0 1] with increasing temperature. However, TEM micrographs showed that dislocation networks are formed along both [011] and [0 1] directions at the interface. These results indicate that growth kinetics on the terrace and at surface steps generated by the dislocations play an important role in determining the direction of surface corrugation. We suggest that the temperature-dependent change of surface corrugation is caused by an anisotropic surface diffusion on the terrace and different sticking probability of adsorbates on the surface steps which were produced by interface misfit dislocation along the two orthogonal surface directions.     

Step instability of the In_0.2Ga_0.8As （001） surface during annealing

Anisotropic evolution of the step edges on the compressive-strained In0.2Ga0.8 As/GaAs(001) surface has been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The experiments suggest that step edges are indeed sinuous and protrude somewhere a little way along the [110] direction, which is different from the classical waviness predicted by the theoretical model. We consider that the monatomic step edges undergo a morphological instability induced by the anisotropic diffusion of adatoms on the terrace during annealing, and we improve a kinetic model of step edge based on the classical Burton–Cabrera–Frank (BCF) model in order to determine the normal velocity of step enlargement. The results show that the normal velocity is proportional to the arc length of the peninsula, which is consistent with the first result of our kinetic model. Additionally, a significant phenomenon is an excess elongation along the [110] direction at the top of the peninsula with a higher aspect ratio, which is attributed to the restriction of diffusion lengths.     

Step instability of the In0.2Ga0.8As （001） surface during annealing

Anisotropic evolution of the step edges on the compressive-strained In0.2Ga0.8 As/GaAs(001) surface has been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The experiments suggest that step edges are indeed sinuous and protrude somewhere a little way along the [110] direction, which is different from the classical waviness predicted by the theoretical model. We consider that the monatomic step edges undergo a morphological instability induced by the anisotropic diffusion of adatoms on the terrace during annealing, and we improve a kinetic model of step edge based on the classical Burton–Cabrera–Frank (BCF) model in order to determine the normal velocity of step enlargement. The results show that the normal velocity is proportional to the arc length of the peninsula, which is consistent with the first result of our kinetic model. Additionally, a significant phenomenon is an excess elongation along the [110] direction at the top of the peninsula with a higher aspect ratio, which is attributed to the restriction of diffusion lengths.     

The influence of crystallographic steps on coadsorption: CO---O/Ni(119)

On low index nickel surfaces, repulsive interactions between atomic oxygen and CO drive the phase separation of these species into oxygen-rich and CO-rich islands. Because these adsorbates interact differently with crystallographic steps, the size and the structure of these islands are modified on stepped surfaces. We have monitored coadsorption-induced changes in the distribution of CO with IRRAS, observing six different CO stretching bands which are assigned to distinct local chemisorption environments. When oxygen fully saturates sites along the step edge, the steps are completely blocked from CO adsorption and virtually all the CO population on the terraces shifts from atop to bridge sites. This terrace site shift is similarly accomplished by atomic oxygen chemisorbed at terrace sites. From these coadsorption-induced changes in CO site distributions, constrained by the 10 Å terrace width, we conclude the through-metal O---CO interaction responsible for this CO site shift must be operative over a range of 5 Å. At θ_o = 0.18 ML, when oxygen occupies, but does not fully saturate the step edge, a new CO adsorption site is created, with a characteristic frequency of 1750 cm⁻¹. This new site is assigned to CO bonded to kinks along the step edge based upon its low intensity ( geometric kink density), enhanced binding strength and sensitivity to oxygen coverage. At higher oxygen coverages, compression of the CO adlayer is observed, with CO shifting to asymmetric bridge sites. As saturation coverage is approached, CO occupies weakly bound sites in close proximity ( 3 Å) to O adatoms, with high characteristic frequencies of 2100 cm⁻¹.     

Hopping domain wall induced by paired adatoms on an atomic wire: si(111)-(5 x 2)-Au

We observed an inhomogeneous fluctuation along one-dimensional atomic wires self-assembled on a Si(111) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy. The fluctuation exhibits dynamic behavior at room temperature and is observed only in a specific geometric condition; the spacing between two neighboring adatom defects is discommensurate with the wire lattice. Upon cooling, the dynamic fluctuation freezes to show the existence of an atomic-scale dislocation or domain wall induced by such "unfavorably" paired adatoms. The microscopic characteristics of the dynamic fluctuation are explained in terms of a hopping solitonic domain wall, and a local potential for this motion imposed by the adatoms is quantified.     

单畴的单原子In纳米线阵列的制备与研究

利用Si（001）向［110］方向偏4°角的斜切表面作为衬底，成功地制备了分布均匀的单畴的单原子In链阵列.扫描隧道显微镜分析表明，沉积的In原子优先吸附在台面上沿着台阶内边缘的位置，并在两个Si的二聚体链之间形成稳定的In二聚体.In二聚体组成直的单原子链，其生长机理与Car提出的“表面聚合反应”相一致.另外，衬底具有非常窄的台面和双原子层台阶边的特殊结构是形成单畴的单原子链的关键. 关键词： 铟单原子链 硅邻近面 扫描隧道显微镜     

Long-range surface reconstruction: Si(110)-(16 x 2)

A variety of reconstruction models is studied for the Si(110)-(16 x 2) surface using first-principles calculations. Assuming appropriate rebonding of edge atoms and surface chains buckled in antiphase, we show that steps along the [112] direction yielding a trench indeed lower the surface energy. We explain the long-range surface reconstruction and develop a geometry model based on steps, adatoms, tetramers, and interstitials. The model is able to explain the stripes of paired pentagons seen obviously in empty-state scanning tunneling microscopy images.     

Brownian motion of 2D vacancy islands by adatom terrace diffusion.

We have studied the Brownian motion of two-dimensional (2D) vacancy islands on Ag(110) at temperatures between 175 and 215 K. While the detachment of adatoms from the island and their diffusion on the terrace are permitted in this temperature range, the periphery diffusion of single adatoms is prohibited. The present scanning tunneling microscopy results provide the first direct experimental proof that the Brownian motion of the islands follows a simple scaling law with terrace diffusion being the rate limiting process. The activation energy of the vacancy island motion is determined to 0.41 eV.     

Surface atom displacement processes

Progress in field ion microscope studies of adatom displacements on metal surfaces is reviewed. It is concluded that of the displacement processes that contribute to surface diffusion only displacements between low-coordination (terrace) sites are well characterised. Procedures and preliminary results of FIM studies of adatom displacement over steps are described. Activation energies measured for passage of Ta, W, Re, Ir and Pt adatoms across (110) W steps are found to equal activation energies for diffusion over (110) W, despite the highly reflecting character of the step for all the adsorbates except Pt. Displacements of adatoms interacting with other adatoms are discussed. Results presented show that interaction of transition metal adatoms forming close-packed dimers on (110) W is rather weak, with a minimum interaction energy [?U(r) < 4kJ/mol] for Re₂ corresponding to a very weak attraction for Re adatoms 0.27 nm apart.     

Step wandering due to the structural difference of the upper and the lower terraces

We consider the wandering instability of steps due to a gap in the lifetime of adatoms for evaporation on the upper and the lower terraces. Our study is meant to explain the step wandering observed in the growth of Si(1 1 1) surface near its structural transition temperature. With a linear stability analysis and Monte Carlo simulations, we show that the instability of an isolated step occurs in growth if adatoms on the upper terrace evaporate more easily than those on the lower terrace. For the instability of a vicinal face, additional features are considered as the motion of the phase boundary and the mass flow across it during the phase transformation. It is found that steps and phase boundaries wander in-phase with a rather well-defined periodicity when evaporation is weak. We compare the result with that for a system with a gap in the diffusion coefficient. The simulation results show that the first mechanism is more effective to make the wandering steps in-phase and that the second mechanism induces step wandering in a wider range of parameters.     

Adatom concentration on GaAs(001) during MBE annealing

We study the concentration of adatoms on GaAs(001) during annealing under MBE conditions. By rapidly cooling the sample from typical growth temperatures and typical As overpressures, the thermal concentration of adatoms can be frozen into small islands on the terraces. The area of the resulting islands is measured with STM far from terrace steps, giving an estimate of the concentration of adatoms during equilibrium. We find that a surprisingly large concentration of adatoms is present for typical growth temperatures, e.g. 0.18 monolayer at 600°C. Possible consequences for current growth models are discussed.     

Oxidation of step edges on Si(001)-c(4x2)

The initial oxidation process of the ultraclean Si(001)-c(4x2) surface is studied using scanning tunneling microscopy at low temperature. At the early stage of oxygen adsorption, reactions with Si atoms at SB steps are dominant over those at terraces by more than 2 orders of magnitude, and they proceed in two distinct stages to high oxidation states. Guided by the ab initio calculations, the oxidation structures at each stage are proposed. The extreme reactivity of the step edge is due to the presence of rebonded adatoms with dangling bonds and weak rebonds, and their proximity allows the formation of -Si-O- chain structures along the step edge, unlike those on the Si(111) surface.     

Effects of surface step on molecular propane adsorption

We have studied the effects of surface step on molecular propane adsorption using molecular-dynamics simulations and a model stepped surface, Pt(6 5 5). Incidences along the step edge (smooth azimuth) and perpendicular to the step edge with upstairs momentum (upstairs azimuth) and downstairs momentum (downstairs azimuth) are considered. In general, the surface step enhances the initial trapping probability of propane except for the downstairs incidences. The most efficient zone in facilitating adsorption is near the bottom of the surface step on the lower terrace where incident molecules experience stronger attraction and an “additional-layer” effect when crossing the step. The least efficient zone is the top of the surface step on the upper terrace due to an opposite “missing-layer” effect. Surface step also creates steric effects such that more incident molecules along the upstairs azimuth but significantly less molecules along the downstairs azimuth impact the step-bottom zone. The latter steric effect, a shadowing effect, undermines the high trapping efficiency of the step-bottom zone to cause the downstairs incidences to have the lowest trapping probabilities. While the shadowing effect can be enhanced by larger incident angles and lower incident energies, the other steric effect on the upstairs incidences is relatively insensitive to the incident energy. Overall, the influence of surface step on molecular adsorption diminishes at low incident energies and large incident angles because longer contact times and less normal momenta result in high trapping probability across the entire stepped surface.     

原子氢辅助分子束外延GaAs(331)A表面形貌演化

研究了GaAs高指数面(331)A在原子氢辅助下分子束外延形貌的演化.原子力显微镜测试表明：在常规分子束外延情况下,GaAs外延层台阶的厚度和台面的宽度随衬底温度的升高而增加,增加外延层厚度会导致台阶的密度和台面的宽度增加然后饱和.而在原子氢辅助分子束外延情况下,当GaAs淀积量相同时GaAs外延层台阶的密度增大宽度减小.认为这是由于原子氢的作用导致Ga原子迁移长度的减小.在GaAs(331)A台阶基底上生长出InAs自组织纳米线,用光荧光测试研究了其光学各项异性特征.     

Growth of single-domain monatomic In chain arrays on the vicinal Si(0 0 1) surface

Using the annealed vicinal Si(0 0 1) surface with 4° miscut toward the [1 1 0] direction as a substrate, single-domain monatomic In chain arrays have been fabricated. High-resolution STM images reveal that deposited In atoms preferentially form In dimers between two neighboring Si dimer rows along the step edges on the lower terrace. Formation of In dimers removes the surface dangling bonds and saturates the In valency. With increasing coverage, the In dimers develop into straight monatomic In chains along the step running direction. It is found that the ordered narrow terrace and rebonded double-layer (D_B) step edge are the keys for the formation of monatomic In chains.     

Growth of monoatomic layer terraces on a (111) lead crystal face: In situ observations in dark field by UHV-TEM

The growth of (111) lead tabular crystals obtained by vapour deposition onto a cleaved surface of graphite has been observed using an ultra high vacuum transmission electron microscope (UHV-TEM). Monoatomic terraces are observed in dark field where the nucleation site of the terraces seems to be due to dislocations emergent at the surface. The growth of a terrace follows three stages: (i) nucleation and isotropic lateral extension until it reaches one side of the tabular crystal (ii) preferential lateral growth of the terrace along the edge of the crystal, (iii) fill up the hole formed at the end of the previous stage.