Initial Stages of Interface Formation: The Influence of Surface Reconstruction

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe initial stages of interface formation are crucial for the growth of an overlayer, particularly for ultra-thin films. While growth rate, growth temperature and lattice match are important parameters in molecular beam epitaxy, growth of semiconductor heterostructures always begins on a reconstructed surface. The effect of this reconstruction has to be known before a complete understanding of the growth process is possible. Two examples will be discussed: (1) A necessary condition for perfect growth is the reordering of the substrate surface, i.e. those atoms at the interface which are originally displaced due to the reconstruction have to be brought back to bulk positions. Si(111)7×7 and Si(100)2×1 surfaces behave differently in this respect. The 2×1 orders upon deposition of Si, Ge or Sn at room-temperature whereas the 7×7 does not. This result will be correlated with the different classes of reconstruction to which these surfaces belong. The possible rela-tionship with the difference in substrate temperatures required to achieve homo-epitaxial growth on Si(100) and Si(111) surfaces will be discussed. (2) Perfect growth also relies on proper control of the growth-mode. As an example, the island-ing behavior found for deposition of Sn on Si will be discussed. While surface diffusion over macroscopic distances is observed, dramatic changes in the affinity for clustering occur depending on surface reconstruction and preparation, suggesting that clustering in this system may be controlled by appropriate choices of growth parameters.