Importance of steps in heteroepitaxy: The case of aluminum on silicon

Marek Sosnowski, Samuel Ramac, Walter L. Brown, Young O. Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

We have observed dominant epitaxial growth of Al(100) films on chemically cleaned, hydrogen terminated, off-oriented Si(111). The films were deposited by thermal evaporation at room temperature in ultrahigh vacuum. X-ray diffraction shows sharp and intense Al(200) diffraction, enhanced by postdeposition annealing. Crystal quality and the dominance of Al(100) structure depend strongly on the substrate treatment and the off-cut angle, both of which control the steps on the Si(111) surface. The steps were found responsible for the epitaxial alignment of the film and the substrate lattices. Details of this alignment were observed in transmission electron microscopy cross-sectional images of the interface. Our findings are in contrast to previously published results which indicate epitaxial growth of Al(111) on Si(111).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2943-2945
Number of pages3
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume65
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - 1994

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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