Deviations from exact epitaxial positions in heteroepitaxy

Epitaxy provides thin films in a perfect periodic structure. In heteroepitaxy the misfit may yield perfect pseudomorphic films or relaxed films, which may show the periodicities of the substrate and the film and their combinations. Then non-periodic defects like mosaics may appear, e.g., due to dislocations. Deviations from exact epitaxial positions in strictly periodic structures can be determined from diffraction intensities. For more complex surfaces, e.g., films with defects like mosaics or large superstructures or on substrates with steps such a strict determination is not possible. From the spot profile analysis of low energy electron diffraction (LEED) or X-ray data some structural information is available for these surfaces with defects. This new type of evaluation is demonstrated with spot profile analysis of LEED (SPA-LEED) for ultrathin Pb films on Si(1 1 1)7 × 7 surface, which grow even at 25 K epitaxially in a layer-by-layer growth mode. The analysis provides the first information on deviation from the exact epitaxial positions of the surface Pb atoms. A vertical shift of domains and an inclination between domains provides an explanation of the experimental results.