Self-assembled parallel mesoscopic Pb-wires on Au-modified Si(5 3 3) substrates

Abstract

Arrays of extremely long and perfectly parallel mesoscopic Pb-wires are formed and studied in UHV conditions. Au-modified Si(5 3 3) substrate modified by deposition of sub-monolayer amount of Au are used as templates. A uniform distribution of monoatomic steps and terraces on well-oriented Si(5 3 3) is induced by formation of Au-chains running along step edges. Real-time surface imaging with LEEM shows that the wires growing on substrates held at temperatures close to the room temperature are all aligned parallel to [0 1 1] azimuth, along the step edges. After nucleation of elongated islands, the 1 ML thick wetting layer remains on the vicinal Si surface. RHEED and low-temperature STM experiments show that the wires have triangular cross-section, limited by (1 1 1) and (1 0 0) facets of Pb. The width of the wires is 60 nm, whereas their length is up to 8 μm. The observed growth anisotropy leading to the formation of mesoscopic wires is attributed to enhanced one-dimensional diffusion along the parallel grooves and trenches that form vicinal surfaces. An additional factor, contributing to the anisotropic growth, is probably the anisotropic strain, due to the large misfit between Pb and Si lattices.