Shape transition in the epitaxial growth of gold silicide in Au thin films on Si(111)

Abstract

Growth of epitaxial gold silicide islands on bromine-passivated Si (111) substrates has been studied by optical and electron microscopy, electron probe micro analysis and helium ion backscattering. The islands grow in the shape of equilateral triangles up to a critical size beyond which the symmetry of the structure is broken, resulting in a shape transition from triangle to trape- Typeset using REVT E X 1

Real time nanoscale structural evaluation of gold structures on Si (100) surface using in-situ transmission electron microscopy

“…2(c)). As time progressed, it tried to rearrange itself to get minimum energy configuration [17,18] which resulted in formation of rectangular/square shaped silicide structures ( fig. 2(d) and 2(e)).…”

Equilibrium Shapes of Solid Particles on Elastically Mismatched Substrates

“…3B). A qualitatively identical size dependence of both equilibrium and growth forms of particles has been experimentally demonstrated for a wide range of particle/substrate systems, including those for which the particles partially wet the substrate, e.g., InAs on GaP(001) (10), and those for which the particles fully wet the substrate, e.g., Si x Ge 1Ϫx on Si(001) (5,6,29,30), CoSi 2 on Si(001) (7,31), Au-Si on Si(111) (32), and InGaAs on various orientations of GaAs (33).…”

Self-assembled growth of nanostructural Ge islands on bromine-passivated Si(111) surfaces at room temperature

“…This sample is described as Br-Si(111) substrate. These type of substrates were used in many growth studies including those in refs [12,20,21,23,24]. Ge was deposited by thermal evaporation at the rate of 0.5 nm/s on BrSi(111) substrates kept at room temperature (RT) under high vacuum ( 3 ¢ 10 6 torr).…”

“…In room temperature vacuum deposition, epitaxial Ag layers have been grown on Br-Si(111) surfaces [20]. Epitaxial gold silicide islands have been grown on Br-Si(111) surfaces in a self-assembled process [21] and the phenomenon of shape transition of islands in heteroepitaxial system [22], which might be a route to form quantum wires, has been observed and quantitatively analyzed [23]. Not only Si(111), but also Si(110) surfaces can be passivated by bromine in a brominemethanol treatment.…”