Sublimation and Phase Transitions on Si(111) Surface Observed by Ultra High Vacuum Scanning Electron Microscopy

Yoshikazu Homma
Additional contact information
Yoshikazu Homma: NTT Science and Core Technology Laboratory Group, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180, Japan

Surface Review and Letters (SRL), 1998, vol. 05, issue 03n04, 685-691

Abstract: We studied the atomic step behavior on Si(111) during sublimation using ultrahigh vacuum scanning electron microscopy. A (111) plane with step spacings as large as several tens of micrometers could be obtained at the bottom of a crater by heating a vicinal Si(111) substrate with craters at around 1200°C in an ultrahigh vacuum. The step spacing on the plane was determined by nucleation of macrovacancies at the center of the plane while steps moved in a step flow manner, and was related to the adatom diffusion length. Above 1200°C, we found a transition-like increase in the step spacing. The electric current direction that induced step bunching changed at around the transition temperature. We attributed these phenomena to incomplete surface melting on the Si(111) surface. We also investigated the influence of heating current on the 7 × 7 phase transition using the wide Si(111) plane and found that the size of the 7 × 7 phase just below the transition temperature depended on the current direction.

Date: 1998
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0218625X98001043
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wsi:srlxxx:v:05:y:1998:i:03n04:n:s0218625x98001043

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from

DOI: 10.1142/S0218625X98001043

Access Statistics for this article

Surface Review and Letters (SRL) is currently edited by S Y Tong

More articles in Surface Review and Letters (SRL) from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tai Tone Lim ().