Intrinsic Stress and Growth of Ag on p-Doped Si(001)(2 × 1): Influence of Dopant Concentration

Abstract
Nucleation and growth of Ag on Si(001)(2 × 1) has been studied at tempertures of (300 ÷ 550) K, using intrinsic stress measurement together with several structural methods. Microstructure, growth mode and related intrinsic stress are strongly influenced by the Si(001) dopant concentration. On low p-doped Si(001)(2 × 1) film growth proceeds by Volmer-Weber mode resulting in polycrystalline films at (300 ÷ 400) K and high-quality epitaxial Ag(001) films at (450 ÷ 550) K. On highly doped substrates, on the other hand, epitaxial Ag(111) films grow via Stranski-Krastanov mode at 300 K, indicating the crucial effect of surface dopants on the initial stages of Ag nucleation.

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