Atomic scale control and understanding of cubic silicon carbide surface reconstructions,nanostructures and nanochemistry

Abstract

The atomic scale ordering and properties of cubic silicon carbide(β-SiC) surfaces and nanostructures are investigated by atom-resolved room andhigh-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS),synchrotron radiation-based valence band and core level photoelectron spectroscopy(VB-PES, CL-PES) and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD). In this paper, wereview the latest results on the atomic scale understanding of (i) the structure ofβ-SiC(100) surface reconstructions, (ii) temperature-induced metallic surface phasetransition, (iii) one dimensional Si(C) self-organized nanostructures havingunprecedented characteristics, and on (iv) nanochemistry at SiC surfaces withhydrogen. The organization of these surface reconstructions as well as the 1Dnanostructures’ self-organization are primarily driven by surface stress. In thispaper, we address such important issues as (i) the structure of the Si-rich3 × 2, the Si-terminatedc (4 × 2), the C-terminatedc (2 × 2) reconstructionsof the β-SiC(100) surface, (ii) the temperature-induced reversible metallic phase transition, (iii) the formation of highly stable (up to900 °C) Si atomic and vacancy lines, (iv) the temperature-induced sp tosp3 diamondlike surface transformation, and (v) the first example of H-induced semiconductor surface metallizationon the β-SiC (100) 3 × 2 surface. The results are discussed and compared to other experimental and theoreticalinvestigations.