Growth of bismuth on the Si(100) surface: AES and LEED study

Abstract

The growth of Bi on the Si(100)-(1 .> 2) surface has been investigated with low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) at temperatures between 80 and 1200 K. The deposition of Bi atoms onto the substrate at temperatures above 280 K first resulted in a (1 × 1) substrate reconstruction at about 1 ML Bi exposure, followed upon further exposure by Bi island formation of the Stranski-Krastanov (SK) type. Bi overlayers deposited on the Si(100) substrate at temperatures below 280 K were found to be disordered and uniform. Dramatic aggregation of Bi atoms in the disordered overlayers ( > 1 ML) was observed by both LEED and AES at a temperature of about 300 K. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images further confirmed Bi island growth.