A scanning tunneling microscopy study of epitaxial Ge growth

Abstract

We report new findings on Ge homoepitaxy on the (110) face using molecular beam epitaxy techniques. Our in-situ scanning tunneling microscopy study reveals that low temperature growth ( T ∼ 300° C) followed by annealing at T ∼ 500° C produces superior surface morphology with long terraces (> 1 μm). High temperature growth ( T > 500° C), on the other hand, promotes the formation of facets and pits. A roughening transition occurs for growth temperatures < 300°C, where long and regularly spaced ridges form along the [1 1 0] direction.