In Situ Reflection Electron Microscopy for the Analysis of Silicon Surface Processes: Sublimation, Electromigration, and Adsorption of Impurity Atoms

The results of recent studies of the structural morphological transformations of Si(111) and Si(100) surfaces using in situ ultrahigh-vacuum reflection electron microscopy (UHV REM) are presented. It is established that high-temperature sublimation from extremely wide Si(111) terraces occurs at a smaller activation energy (3.77 eV) than from the vicinal surface (4.04 eV). A nonmonotonic change in the kinetics of step bunching during a smooth transition from sublimation to growth on the Si(100) surface is recorded. The structural transformations caused by electromigration of positively charged Sn adatoms on the reconstructed Si(111) surface are demonstrated. It is shown that Si(111) surface etching under exposure to a Se molecular beam occurs in a layer-by-layer mode due to the desorption of SiSe2 molecules with activation energy of 2.65 eV.

Automated summary

Recent studies have shown that Si(111) and Si(100) surfaces exhibit different behaviors in terms of sublimation and growth at high temperatures. Structural transformations on the Si(111) surface are demonstrated to be caused by electromigration, while Si(111) surface etching under exposure to a Se molecular beam occurs in a layer-by-layer mode.