Formation of Nanoscale Structures on the Ge(111) Surface Under Mechanical Loading

Abstract

Surface layers of Ge(111) under external mechanical loading have been investigated by EELS on plasmons and RHEED techniques. The positions of plasmon peaks and the diffraction patters were found to be strongly influenced by the external stress. Lattice dilatation in the layers 1 and 10 nm thick was estimated from the energy shifts of plasmon peaks under the applied load. It has been concluded that under high stress values of the order of 1 GPa the surface layers of Ge(111) undergo a transformation from the single-crystal to nanocrystallin state.