L. Douillard et al., PAIRS OF SI ATOMIC LINES SELF-ASSEMBLING ON THE BETA-SIC(100) SURFACE- AN 8X2-RECONSTRUCTION, Surface science, 401(1), 1998, pp. 395-400
We investigate the transition between beta-SiC(100) surface reconstruc
tions using scanning tunneling microscopy (filled and empty electronic
states). We find the unexpected formation of Si-dimer lines that are
self-assembled by pairs with a long-range order resulting in an even 8
x 2 surface reconstruction. This very uncommon surface ordering resul
ts in the combination of alternating periodic 3 x 2 and 5 x 2 unit cel
ls. In contrast to the beta-SiC(100)3 x 2 surface reconstruction, the
Si-dimers are symmetric. Such atomic line pairs provide a novel type o
f one dimensional sub-nanostructure potentially having interesting cha
racteristics. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.