Regular stepped structures on clean Si(hhm)7x7 surfaces

A.N. Chaika (1) , Denis Fokin (1, 2) , S.I. Bozhko (1) , A.M. Ionov (1) , François Debontridder (2) , Vincent Dubost (2) , Tristan Cren (2) , Dimitri Roditchev (2)

1 Institute of Solid State Physics
2 INSP - Institut des Nanosciences de Paris

Regular single and triple step arrays with different periodicities have been fabricated in ultrahigh vacuum on clean Si(557) surfaces at various thermal treatment procedures. The atomic structure of the triple step staircases has been studied with high resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The results of atomically resolved STM experiments demonstrate a number of possible triple step configurations on Si(hhm) surfaces. The triple step models consistent with atomically resolved STM data obtained on regular Si(223) and Si(556) triple step staircases are presented. Possible driving forces for self-assembling regular step arrays on large scale areas are discussed.

Mots clés: elemental semiconductors; heat treatment; materials preparation; scanning tunnelling microscopy; self-assembly; silicon; surface morphology

A.N. Chaika, Denis Fokin, S.I. Bozhko, A.M. Ionov, François Debontridder, et al.. Regular stepped structures on clean Si(hhm)7x7 surfaces. Journal of Applied Physics, 2009, 105, pp.034304. ⟨10.1063/1.3072667⟩. ⟨hal-00449792⟩