Formation of interfacial phases in the epitaxial growth of Sb on Si(111)-7 ¥ 7 reconstructed surface

Abstract

Understanding the evolution of the Sb/Si(111) interface is of great interest in the formation of devices of nanodimensions. We have undertaken in situ (∼10-11 torr) studies of Sb adsorption (at room temperature) and its desorption on the 7 X 7 reconstructed Si(111) surface, by complementary techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). For room-temperature (RT) Sb adsorption, the overlayer grows in the Frank van der Merwe mode, forming an interface state of δ(7 X 7) in the submonolayer Sb coverage regime. Adsorption of 1.0 monolayer (ML) Sb at RT shows an abrupt shift of 0.8 eV in the peak position of the Sb 3d5/2 transition owing to band-bending caused by a metallic (7 X 7) to a semiconducting (1 X 1) surface phase transformation. Changes observed in full width at half-maximum (fwhm) and Sb 3d3/2 and 3d5/2 branching ratio are discussed. Thermal annealing experiments provide evidence for agglomeration of Sb islands, before the multilayer and monolayer desorption. During this desorption process, we have observed two novel surface phases of (5 X 5) at 0.4 ML and (5√3 X 5√3­R30°) at 0.2 ML, stable at higher temperatures.