Abstract
The Si mass transport taking place during the formation of the surface phase has been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy. From the measurement of the areas occupied by various structural domains and the quantitative consideration of the Si mass balance, the top Si atom density in the phase is found to be 0.96 monolayer. The structure is suggested to consist of a planar CuSi overlayer with an atomic ratio of Cu:Si close to 1:1. Further Cu deposition beyond the formation of phase results in the formation of Cu nanocrystals on the intermediate layer.
- Received 10 October 2006
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.75.073407
©2007 American Physical Society