RHEED study of the initial stages of crystallization and oxidation of lead and tin

Abstract

RHEED investigations of the initial stages of crystallization and oxidation of massive lead and tin and their thin films on (111)Si are discussed. Diamond cubic structures with lattice parameters around the lattice parameter of silicon exists both in thin lead and tin films, and in massive lead and tin, freshly solidified in vacuum of ≈5 x 10 -6 Torr. Experimental evidence for almost identical structures of at least three oxide types is presented, demonstrating that lead and tin behave like silicon not only in the initial stages of crystallization, but also in the initial stages of oxidation. The already discussed tin phase with a=6.40 Å has been identified as a tin analogue of SiO. Some data on the phase composition of thin lead films, heated to 700°C, are reported. One of the phases in heated lead films was interpreted as a lead analogue of α-Sn.