Surface periodicities of high-index facets on vicinal Si(111)

• Published in: Surface science Vol. 307; pp. 656 - 661
• Main Authors: Röttger, B., Hanbücken, M., Vianey, I., Kliese, R., Neddermeyer, H.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 20.04.1994; Amsterdam Elsevier Science; New York, NY
• Subjects: Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Exact sciences and technology; Physics; Solid surfaces and solid-solid interfaces; Surface structure and topography; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Surface reconstruction; Semiconductor materials; Silicon; Step; Experimental study; STM; Surface structure
• ISSN: 0039-6028; 1879-2758
• DOI: 10.1016/0039-6028(94)91472-9

The concave surface of mechanochemically treated Si(111) samples breaks up, under UHV treatment, into a large number of vicinal Si(111) surfaces. The concave surface presents a continuous range of polar angles up to 10° for arbitrary azimuthal direction. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements, performed on different parts of the surface, have shown facetting into (111)-oriented, 7 × 7 reconstructed terraces, steps or step bunches. Characteristic step arrangements known from individually prepared vicinal Si(111) surfaces have been identified. On step bunches ordered regions with orientations corresponding to high-index ( hkl) values have been observed. One of these could be assigned to a (9 13 7) facet and is decribed in the present work.