A kinetic Monte Carlo study on the role of defects and detachment in the formation andgrowth of In chains on Si(100)

Abstract

Deposition on a Si(100) surface and subsequent self-assembly of In atoms intoone-dimensional (1D) atomic chains at room temperature is investigated via kinetic MonteCarlo simulation of a suitable atomistic model. Model development is guided by recentexperimental observations in which 1D In chains nucleate effectively exclusively at C-typedefects, although In atoms can detach from chains. We find that a monotonicallydecreasing form of the scaled island size distribution (ISD) is consistent with a high defectdensity which facilitates persistent chain nucleation even at relatively high coverages. Thepredominance of heterogeneous nucleation may be attributed to several factors includinglow surface diffusion barriers, a high defect density, and relatively weak In–In binding.