STM investigation of structural properties of Si layers deposited on Si(001) vicinal surfaces

TL;DR

This study uses STM to analyze how the structural properties of silicon epitaxial layers on Si(001) vicinal surfaces vary with substrate tilt and growth mode, revealing defect formation processes linked to step interactions.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the dependence of surface defect generation on substrate tilt direction and growth mode in silicon epitaxy.

Findings

Surface defect processes depend on tilt direction.

Growth mode influences defect formation.

Step interactions affect surface structure.

Abstract

This communication covers investigation of the structural properties of surfaces of Si epitaxial layers deposited on different Si(001) vicinal substrates. We have shown processes of generation and growth of surface defects to depend on tilt direction of a Si(001) wafer and epilayer growth mode. We suppose these effects to be connected with mutual interaction of monoatomic steps.