Observation of Initial Growth of In on Silicon(100) Surface

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The initial growth of In on a Si(100) surface as a function of the coverage has been investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In(2×2) is a frequently observed phase at coverages below 0.5 monolayer (ML), the In(2×1) phase appears at the coverage above 0.5 ML, and the coexistence of the In(2×2) and In(2×1) reconstructions becomes a dominant phase at the coverage between 0.5 ML and 1.0 ML. Further deposition of In above 1.0 ML gives rise to the onset of three-dimensional island nucleation and growth associated with layer-by-layer growth. The island is highly oriented with major axes along the directions. The island is located on the terrace adjacent to the step edge, suggesting that the step edge should be a preferred site for island nucleation.