Scanning tunneling microscopy study of faceting on vicinal Si(113)

Faceting on Si(113) surfaces misoriented towards a low-symmetry direction w hich is rotated by 57 degrees from [(3) over bar (3) over bar 2] to [110] h as been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy. The faceting temperatu re of this surface is shown to be around 720 degrees C, which is appreciabl y lower than those of the surfaces miscut towards the high-symmetry [(3) ov er bar (3) over bar 2] direction. During faceting, the average terrace widt h varies as a power law versus annealing time with an exponent of similar t o 1/6 for temperatures of 600 and 650 degrees C in agreement with previous results for surfaces miscut towards the [(3) over bar (3) over bar 2] direc tion.