Metastability of the Si(111)/Cu interface: A spatially resolved Auger line-shape spectroscopy investigation

Abstract
We present the first application of spatially resolved Auger line-shape spectroscopy to the thermally agglomerated Si(111)/Cu interface. We show that this system cannot be described in terms of a pure Stranski-Krastanov growth model. In fact, intermixed silicidelike three-dimensional islands, rather than pure metallic ones, were found to develop on top of a very thin overlayer (∼1–2 monolayers) where a weak chemical interaction between Si and Cu atoms is detected.