E. Terovanesyan et al., SOLID-PHASE EPITAXY OF THIN SILICON FILM ON SI(111) SURFACE STUDIED BY SCANNING-TUNNELING-MICROSCOPY, Israel Journal of Chemistry, 36(1), 1996, pp. 45-53
Solid-phase epitaxy (SPE) of thin silicon film with a thickness of 0.2
-2 bilayers (BL) on Si(111)-(7 x 7) surface was studied by scanning tu
nneling microscopy. At small coverage, the SPE growth proceeds via coa
rsening of islands. As the coverage exceeds the percolation threshold
a 'mirror' process consisting of coarsening of voids in the continuous
layer takes place. The SPE growth of a thicker continuous layer resul
ts in a partly disordered flat surface, displaying a mixture of differ
ent reconstructions. Quantitative characterization of this surface by
the formalism of pair distribution functions reveals an anisotropy in
the orientational order that may indicate that SPE occurs preferably i
n the step direction. A possibility to use an SPE-grown layer as a two
-dimensional model for bulk processes in solids is discussed.