Characteristics of the elastic strain of a Ge(111) surface under a mechanical load

Estimates are obtained for various components of the elastic strain in a Ge(111) surface layer under isotropic lateral tension. Agreement with the reversible components of surface thinning, derived from energy shifts in the volume and surface plasma peaks, suggests that the latter have an elastic character. It is conjectured that the anomalously high strain in a thin surface layer is due to the partially quasielastic variation of the relief of strained semiconductor surfaces. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 641–644 (April 1999)