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Faceting of Stepped Silicon (113) Surfaces: Step Unbinding, Dynamic Scaling, and Nano-Scale Grooves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

S. G. J. Mochrie
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
S. Song
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
Mirang Yoon
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
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Abstract

X-ray scattering studies are reviewed of the faceting kinetics of stepped silicon (113) surfaces misoriented towards [001]. Following a quench from the one-phase region of the orientational phase diagram into the coexistence region, initially-uniformly-distributed steps rearrange to form a grooved superstructure. Our measurements reveal the behavior of the grooved surface morphology as a function of time. The surface is found to be self-similar in time, with a characteristic groove size (L) varying as a power-law versus time (t): L = L0tøwith a coarsening exponent of ø = 0.164 ± 0.021 ≃ 1/6, consistent with a theory for the kinetics of faceting which focuses on thermally fluctuating step bunches and their collisions. At later times, the groove size approaches a limiting value which depends on the stepped phase misorientation angle, as expected for faceted surfaces in the case that elastic effects are important.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

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