Surfactant coverage and epitaxy of Ge on Ga-terminated Si(111)

Abstract
We have investigated the role of surfactant coverage and bonding for growth of Ge on Si(111). At 470 °C Ge grows on Si(111)-(7×7) in a Stranski–Krastanov fashion. Preadsorption of 1-ML Ga at 500 °C forms a Ga:Si(111)-(6.3×6.3) structure and alters the Ge growth mode from three-dimensional (3D) islanding to continuous film formation. However, the epitaxial layer contains defects, caused by the presence of domain boundaries of both A- and B-type material. Growth properties depend strongly on the initial Ga coverage: if a (√3×√3) surface with 1/3-mL Ga is used, a modified Stranski–Krastanov growth mode is observed, with 3D islands of a uniform predominant thickness.

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