Initial growth of Ti on Si

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Abstract
The structural and electronic properties of low coverages of Ti deposited on Si(100) and Si(111) at room temperature have been investigated by detailed Auger-electron spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), and appearance-potential spectroscopy (APS). The growth mechanism is dependent on the cleaning procedure. When the sample is cleaned by brief thermal annealing at 850 °C alone, Ti growth is layer-by-layer on both Si(100) and Si(111). When cleaned by sputtering and heating, the Ti growth on both surfaces is characteristic of island growth following a Poisson distribution. The Si(111) (7×7) and (1×1) LEED beams are extinguished by deposition of less than a monolayer of Ti, as are the Si(100) (2×1) and (1×1) beams. This indicates a marked disruption of the Si lattice in the near surface region due to Ti. Appearance-potential spectra show development of structure characteristic of the pure Ti surface beginning at coverages of less than a monolayer. The growth mode and the APS results are inconsistent with intermixing of the Ti and Si on either Si(111) or Si(100) at room temperature.