Photoemission studies of the initial adsorption and growth of Ag and Au on Ge and Si.

Abstract

High-resolution core-level and valence-band photoemission studies have been performed to investigate the initial phases of growth of Ag on Si(111)-(7 x 7) and Ge(111)-c(2 x 8), and Au on Ge(111)-c(2 x 8). These systems were also studied with electron diffraction. Upon the deposition of various amounts of Ag or Au on the Si and Ge substrates, the photoemission spectra exhibited selective modifications of surface states and individual core-level components corresponding to different atomic sites. The results establish correlations between the electronic and structural properties of the substrate surfaces and have implications for possible growth models of Au and Ag upon them.