Epitaxial Growth of Be(0001) on Ge(111) and Ge(111) on Be(0001)

Abstract

Several desirable characteristics make single crystal beryllium films and Be-Ge heterostructures of interest in various areas. Because of its very low absorption at soft x-ray wavelengths,1 Be is attractive to the x-ray optics community for use as a spacer material in multilayer mirrors. Such mirrors would be of use in x-ray microscopy,2,3 lithography,4,5 and astronomy.6 Be is also potentially useful in infrared (IR) optics because of its high IR reflectance and good thermal properties.7 In addition to these optical properties, the electrical and electronic properties of Be thin films could also be utilized in other areas, such as electromagnetic shielding in space applications,8 studies of superconductivity,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 and hot-electron transistor technology.16