Reflection electron microscope study of hydrogen atom adsorption on Si(111)7 × 7 surfaces

Si(111)7 × 7 surfaces were exposed to hydrogen atoms and changes of the surfaces during the exposure and subsequent annealing were in-situ observed by ultrahigh vacuum reflection electron microscopy. At room temperature the structure transformed to the so-called δ−7 ×7 structure which gave superlattice reflections mainly along lines which connect the neighboring fundamental reflections. The surface images did not show orientational domains, which indicated that the δ−7 × 7 structure is not composed of three domains of a 7 × 1 structure. Atomic step configurations did not change during the process. This was also the case when the δ−7 × 7 structure transformed to the 7 × 7 structure of the clean surface by annealing above 450 °C.     

STM study of Si(111)1 × 1-H surfaces prepared by in situ hydrogen exposure

We have used scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron diffraction to study the preparation of hydrogen-terminated Si(111)1 × 1 surfaces by in situ atomic-hydrogen exposure of Si(111)7 × 7 surfaces. We find that exposure at sample temperatures of 350–480°C with a hydrogen dose above 1000 L results in the complete transformation of the 7 × 7 structure to the H-terminated 1 × 1 structure. The highest quality Si(111)1 × 1-H surfaces are obtained for doses of 5000 L hydrogen at a temperature around 380°C. These surfaces have less than 5% of a monolayer stacking faults, approximately 1% point-like defects, and less than 0.5% of contamination. For larger hydrogen doses the amount of stacking faults is further reduced, but the surfaces become rough due to the formation of holes in the first bulk double layer. A discussion of the temperature dependence of the removal of the stacking faults is presented as well as a discussion on the origin of the most frequently occurring point-like defects.     

Thiophene on Si(111)2×1: Synchrotron radiation study of a desulfurization process

The adsorption and desulfurization of thiophene on cleaved silicon was studied at different temperatures. For substrate temperatures of 60–85 K, we found the co-existence of two different adsorption states at low exposures, which yield to a condensed thiophene multilayer at high exposures. For room-temperature substrates, we observed a desulfurization process. The process is probably followed by further fragmentation, and the fragmentation path depends on the substrate preparation process.     

First-principle study of Mg adsorption on Si（111） surfaces

We have carried out first-principle calculations of Mg adsorption on Si(111) surfaces. Different adsorption sites and coverage effects have been considered. We found that the threefold hollow adsorption is energy-favoured in each coverage considered, while for the clean Si(111) surface of metallic feature, we found that 0.25 and 0.5 ML Mg adsorption leads to a semiconducting surface. The results for the electronic behaviour suggest a polarized covalent bonding between the Mg adatom and Si(111) surface.     

Azimuthal dependence of reflection high resolution electron energy loss of Si(111)(2×1)

High Resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy has been used, with low energy of the primary beam and azimuthal resolution, to study the anisotropy of surface dielectric properties of Si(111)(2 × 1), in the range of the surface electronic excitations. By eliminating the effect of the kinematic prefactor, we are able to obtain from the data the surface Loss Function. Its dependence on q_∥ and ω is discussed in term of a model of surface dielectric function.     

Ab initio study of Yb on the Ge(111)–(3 × 2) and Si(111)–(3 × 2) surfaces

The surface reconstruction, 3 × 2, induced by Yb adsorption on a Ge (Si)(111) surface has been studied using first principles density-functional calculation within the generalized gradient approximation. The two different possible adsorption sites have been considered: (i) H₃ (this site is directly above a fourth-layer Ge (Si) atom) and (ii) T₄ (directly above a second-layer Ge (Si) atom). We have found that the total energies corresponding to these binding sites are nearly the same, indeed for the Yb/Ge (Si)(111)–(3 × 2) structure the T₄ model is slightly energetic by about 0.01 (0.08) eV/unitcell compared with the H₃ model. In particular for the Ge sublayer, the energy difference is small, and therefore it is possible that the T₄, H₃, or T₄H₃ (half of the adatoms occupy the T₄ adsorption site and the rest of the adatoms are located at the H₃ site) binding sites can coexist with REM/Ge(111)–(3 × 2). In contrast to the proposed model, we have not determined any buckling in the Ge = Ge double bond. The electronic band structures of the surfaces and the corresponding natures of their orbitals have also been calculated. Our results for both substrates are seen to be in agreement with the recent experimental data, especially that of the Yb/Si(111)–(3 × 2) surface.     

Silver schottky contacts on Si(111)∶ H-(1×1) surfaces prepared by wet-chemical etching

Schottky contacts were prepared by evaporation of silver on H-terminated Si(111) surfaces at room temperature. The Si(111)H-(1×1) surfaces were obtained by wet-chemical etching in buffered hydrofluoric acid. The zero-bias barrier heights and the ideality factors, which were determined fromI/V characteristics measured with these contacts, were found to be linearly correlated. This plot gives a zero-bias barrier height of 0.74 eV for an ideality factor of 1.01 which is obtained for image-force lowering of the barrier only. The barrier heights observed here equal the one found with Ag/Si(111)-(1×1) contacts. They were prepared by Ag evaporation onto clean Si(111)-(7×7) surfaces at room temperature and subsequent heat treatments. The present result is explained by the desorption of the hydrogen adatoms during the deposition of Ag and the existence of a (1×1)-structure at the Ag/Si(111) interface.     

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.     

Initial stages of oxidation of GaAs(111)2 × 2-Ga surfaces

The initial interaction of oxygen at room temperature with GaAs(111)2 × 2-Ga surfaces has been studied by quantitative Auger analysis and low-energy electron diffraction, under different electron irradiation and gas ionization conditions. Oxygen fills first the non-vacancy overlayer sites with a preferential bond to the Ga atoms. This adsorption phase is characterized by the absence of chemical shifts in the Ga Auger peaks that involve core levels. The oxidation stage begins with the occupation of the underlayer sites below the first Ga-As bilayer. For coverages lower than 2 monolayers oxygen adsorption and incorporation takes place without any loss of Ga or As atoms of the surface layers. Electron irradiation and gas ionization of the oxygen-covered surface increase the kinetics up to two orders of magnitude, but no changes in the adsorption sites and/or occupation sequence have been detected.     

Site selective SiH4 adsorption on Si(111)(7 × 7) surfaces

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was used to investigate room temperature adsorption and dissociation of SiH₄ on Si(111)(7 × 7) surfaces. The data show a pronounced site selectivity for this process. Initially the reaction involves exclusively the corner holes and the adjacent Si adatoms of the (7 × 7) reconstruction, with preferential adsorption of SiH₃ groups in the corner holes and of H atoms on one of the adjacent corner adatoms. For higher SiH₄ exposures the reactivity of the corner adatoms is significantly reduced, hydrogen adsorption occurs preferentially on the center adatoms. Deposited SiH_x groups (x = 2, 3) nucleate now in small clusters on the terraces. A higher density of these SiH_x clusters on domain boundaries or at steps indicates a higher reactivity of these defect sites.     

Adsorption of Perylene on Si(111)(7×7)

We investigate the adsorption of organic molecular semiconductor perylene on(7 × 7) reconstructed Si(111)surface by ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy.It is observed that seven features that derive from the organic material are located at 0.71,2.24,4.0,5.9,7.46,8.65 and 9.95 eV in binding energy.The theoretical calculation results reveal the most stable adsorption geometry of organic molecule perylene on Si(111)(7 × 7) substrates is at the beginning of deposition.     

Adsorption of O2 and CO2 on the Si(111)-7 × 7 surfaces

The interaction of O₂ and CO₂ with the Si(111)-7 × 7 surface has been studied with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that both O₂ and CO₂ molecules can readily oxidize the Si(111)-7 × 7 surface to form thin oxide films. Two oxygen species were identified in the oxide film: oxygen atoms binding to on-top sites of adatom/rest atoms with an O 1s binding energy of ~ 533 eV as well as to bridge sites of adatom/rest atom backbonds at ~ 532 eV. These two oxygen species can be interconverted thermally during the annealing process. Due to the low oxidation capability, the silicon oxide film formed by CO₂ has a lower O/Si ratio than that of O₂.     

Continuous-time observation of pseudo-vacancy diffusion at Si(111)-7 × 7 surfaces

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is used to study surface diffusion of a special type of point defects at Si(111)-7 × 7 surfaces. These defects survive even after annealing up to 1250°C. They appear darker than Si adatoms at the tunneling biases ranging from −3 to +3 V, but they are not true vacancies. We found that these vacancy-like defects (hereafter, we refer to them as pseudo-vacancies) are not caused by adsorption of major contaminants in the vacuum chamber, nor by dopants. We also observed migration of pseudo-vacancies between nearest neighboring Si adatom sites at temperatures above 500°C. Most of the jumps are within a half of the 7 × 7 unit cell. Thousands of STM images were recorded from 520 to 610°C and the activation energies and frequency factors were determined. Varying the tunneling current produces almost no effect on the diffusion, but varying the scanning speed produces a small effect.     

Fluorine etching on the Si(111)-7×7 surfaces using fluorinated fullerene

Fluorine etching on the Si(1 1 1)-7×7 surfaces using fluorinated fullerene molecules as a fluorine source has been investigated. At room temperature, adsorbed fluorinated fullerene molecules reacted with the Si(1 1 1)-7×7 surface to create a localized distribution of fluorine on the surface. Nanoscale etch pits were created by annealing at 300 °C, due to the adsorption of the fluorine localized around the C₆₀F_x molecules. Annealing at 400 °C resulted in the delocalized fluorine distribution on the surface and healing of the etch pits, due to the enhancement of the diffusion of both the fluorine and silicon atoms. Subsequent annealing at 500 °C led to desorption of SiF₂ reactants formed on the surface. The fluorine diffusion process was found to be an elemental process in the etching because the diffusion of adsorbed fluorines is a key for the formation of the SiF₂ species and their subsequent desorption.     

Simulation of a vacancy defect at the C(111)–2 × 1 surface

The configurations of a vacancy defect on the C(111)–2 × 1 surface, containing atoms with one or two dangling bonds, possessing a high adsorption activity, are calculated. We study the configurations of the vacancy defect at the surface of diamond C(111)–2 × 1 using the semiempirical MNDO method (MOPAC) and the ab initio Hartree–Fock method (PC GAMESS). We calculate the energies of clusters, the orders of atomic bonds, the populations of atomic orbitals, and the localized molecular orbitals.     

Effect of NH3 adsorption on the atomic structure of Si(111) √3 × √3 - Al and Si(111) √3 × √3 - Ag surfaces

The room temperature (RT) adsorption of ammonia (NH₃) on Si(111)√3 × √3-Al and Si(111)√3 × √3-Ag surfaces has been studied using LEED and AES. The transformation from Si(111)√3 × √3-Al surface structure to Si(111)1 × 1-(Al, H) upon NH₃ exposure has been found to be similar to the previously observed structural transformation induced by exposure in the atomic hydrogen. It has been demonstrated that the transformation is caused by hydrogen atoms which are generated by NH₃ dissociation on the Si(111)√3 × √3-Al surface. It has been estimated that about 0.1 ML of ammonia molecules is needed to complete the structural transformation. No interaction of NH₃ with the Si(111)√3 × √3-Ag surface has been found. The dissociation of NH₃ molecules is believed to be impossible on this surface     

Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of individual C60 molecules on Si(100)-(2 × 1) surfaces

Individual C₆₀ molecules chemisorbed on Si(100)-(2 × 1) surfaces have been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. Chemisorption was realized by annealing the samples with room-temperature deposited adsorbates to 600°C. Spectroscopic results on individual adsorbates reveal a transition of their electronic structure from that of a near-free adsorbate to that of SiC, as the adsorbate-substrate interaction increases.