Evaluating Mechanisms of Adsorbate Induced Roughening in Si(100) with Monte Carlo Simulations

Abstract

Halogen adsorption induces roughening of Si(100) producing pits and regrowth structures that depend on the type of adsorbed halogen and coverage. It is thought that this spontaneous roughening arises from steric repulsions between adsorbates. Recently, new interactions present in the Cl/Si(100) system have been suggested that can also contribute to altering the surface morphology. We used Monte Carlo simulations to determine the effects of the proposed interactions on the surface morphologies as a function of coverage.