RESUMEN
The complex structure and morphology of ultrathin praseodymia films deposited on a ruthenium(0001) single crystal substrate by reactive molecular beam epitaxy is analyzed by intensity-voltage low-energy electron microscopy in combination with theoretical calculations within an ab initio scattering theory. A rich coexistence of various nanoscale crystalline surface structures is identified for the as-grown samples, notably comprising two distinct oxygen-terminated hexagonal Pr2O3(0001) surface phases as well as a cubic Pr2O3(111) and a fluorite PrO2(111) surface component. Furthermore, scattering theory reveals a striking similarity between the electron reflectivity spectra of praseodymia and ceria due to very efficient screening of the nuclear charge by the extra 4f electron in the former case.
RESUMEN
The growth of 3, 4, 9, 10-perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) on the Ga-polar GaN(0 0 0 1) surface has been studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), spot profile analysis low-energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED), near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The stoichiometric ratios derived from XPS indicate that the molecules remain intact upon adsorption on the surface. Furthermore, no chemical shifts can be observed in the C 1s and O 1s core levels with progressing deposition of PTCDA, suggesting none or only weak interactions between the molecules and the substrate. NEXAFS data indicate the PTCDA molecules being oriented with their molecular plane parallel to the surface. High-resolution STM shows PTCDA islands of irregular shape on the sub-micron scale, and together with corresponding SPA-LEED data reveals a lateral ordering of the molecules that is compatible with the presence of (1 0 2) oriented PTCDA nano-crystals. SPA-LEED moreover clearly shows the presence of homogeneously distributed rotational domains of two-dimensionally isotropic PTCDA.
RESUMEN
The reactive growth of cobalt germanide on Ge(001) was investigated by means of in situ x-ray absorption spectroscopy photoemission electron microscopy (XAS-PEEM), micro-illumination low-energy electron diffraction (µ-LEED), and ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM). At a Co deposition temperature of 670 °C, a rich morphology with different island shapes and dimensions is observed, and a correlation between island morphology and stoichiometry is found. By combining XAS-PEEM and µ-LEED, we were able to identify a large part of the islands to consist of CoGe2, with many of them having an unusual epitaxial relationship: CoGe2 [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] Ge [Formula: see text]. Side facets with (112) and (113) orientation have been found for such islands. However, two additional phases were observed, most likely Co5Ge7 and CoGe. Comparing growth on Ge(001) single crystals and on Ge(001)/Si(001) epilayer substrates, the occurrence of these intermediate phases seems to be promoted by defects or residual strain.
RESUMEN
Nickel germanide is deemed an excellent material system for low resistance contact formation for future Ge device modules integrated into mainstream, Si-based integrated circuit technologies. In this study, we present a multi-technique experimental study on the formation processes of nickel germanides on Ge(001). We demonstrate that room temperature deposition of â¼1 nm of Ni on Ge(001) is realized in the Volmer-Weber growth mode. Subsequent thermal annealing results first in the formation of a continuous NixGey wetting layer featuring well-defined terrace morphology. Upon increasing the annealing temperature to 300 °C, we observed the onset of a de-wetting process, characterized by the appearance of voids on the NixGey terraces. Annealing above 300 °C enhances this de-wetting process and the surface evolves gradually towards the formation of well-ordered, rectangular NixGey 3D nanostructures. Annealing up to 500 °C induces an Ostwald ripening phenomenon, with smaller nanoislands disappearing and larger ones increasing their size. Subsequent annealing to higher temperatures drives the Ni-germanide diffusion into the bulk and the consequent formation of highly ordered, {111} faceted Ni-Ge nanocrystals featuring an epitaxial relationship with the substrate Ni-Ge (101); (010) || Ge(001); (110).
RESUMEN
Electron scattering by oxygen monolayers on the Ru(0 0 0 1) surface is studied both experimentally and theoretically. Sharp transmission resonances at low energies are revealed and established to originate from critical points of a special kind in the complex band structure of the substrate. Electron reflection from the clean and oxidized Ru(0 0 0 1) is measured for kinetic energies up to 40 eV at normal incidence for oxygen coverages of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and one monolayer. The reflection spectra R(E) are analyzed using a Bloch-waves based ab initio scattering theory. In addition to the substrate-induced resonances the reconstructed (2 × 1) and (2 × 2) surfaces show surface resonances due to pre-emergent secondary diffraction beams. The R(E) spectra are shown to give unambiguous evidence of the hcp stacking of the oxygen layer.
RESUMEN
The growth of cerium oxide on Ru(0001) by reactive molecular beam epitaxy has been investigated using low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and diffraction as well as local valence band photoemission. The oxide islands are found to adopt a carpet-like growth mode, which depending on the local substrate morphology and misorientation leads to deviations from the otherwise almost perfect equilateral shape at a growth temperature of 850 °C. Furthermore, although even at this high growth temperature the micron-sized CeO2(111) islands are found to exhibit different lattice registries with respect to the hexagonal substrate, the combination of dark-field LEEM and local intensity-voltage analysis reveals that the oxidation state of the islands is homogeneous down to the 10 nm scale.
RESUMEN
A cold radio frequency oxygen plasma treatment is demonstrated as a successful route to prepare clean, well-ordered, and stoichiometric PrO(2) layers on silicon. High structural quality of these layers is shown by x-ray diffraction. So far unobserved spectral characteristics in Pr 3d x-ray photoelectron (XP) spectra of PrO(2) are presented as a fingerprint for praseodymia in its highest oxidized state. They provide insight in the electronic ground state and the special role of praseodymia among the rare earth oxides. They also reveal that former XP studies suffered from a significant reduction at the surface.
RESUMEN
The local structure around the indium atoms in uncapped and capped In(x)Ga(1-x)N quantum dots has been studied by In K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The samples were grown by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy. The EXAFS was successfully applied to study the structural properties of buried quantum dots which are not optically active. The analysis revealed that capping the quantum dots with GaN does not affect the bond distances of the In-N and In-Ga, but makes the In-In distance shorter by 0.04 A.
RESUMEN
The pre-adsorption of Ga on Si(112) leads to a drastic change of the morphology of subsequently grown Ge islands. In contrast to the case for Ge growth on bare Si(112), even nanowire growth can be achieved on Ga terminated Si(112). Employing low energy electron microscopy and low energy electron diffraction, the initial phase of Ge nucleation and Ge island growth was systematically analysed for growth temperatures between 420 and 610 °C, both on clean and on Ga terminated Si(112). In both cases the island density exhibits an Arrhenius-like behaviour, from which diffusion barrier heights of about 1.3 and 1.0 eV can be estimated for growth with and without Ga pre-adsorption, respectively. The Ge island shape on the bare Si(112) surface is found to be nearly circular over the whole temperature range, whereas the shapes of the Ge islands on the Ga terminated Si(112) become highly anisotropic for higher temperatures. Ge nanowires with sizes of up to 2 µm along the [Formula: see text] direction are observed.
RESUMEN
A novel mechanism is described which enables the selective formation of three-dimensional Ge islands. Submonolayer adsorption of Ga on Si(111) at high temperature leads to a self-organized two-dimensional pattern formation by separation of the 7 x 7 substrate and Ga/Si(111)-(square root[3] x square root[3])-R30 degrees domains. The latter evolve at step edges and domain boundaries of the initial substrate reconstruction. Subsequent Ge deposition results in the growth of 3D islands which are aligned at the boundaries between bare and Ga-covered domains. This result is explained in terms of preferential nucleation conditions due to a modulation of the surface chemical potential.
RESUMEN
The average strain state of Ge films grown on Si(111) by surfactant mediated epitaxy has been compared to the ordering of the interfacial misfit dislocation network. Surprisingly, a smaller degree of average lattice relaxation was found in films grown at higher temperature. On the other hand, these films exhibit a better ordered dislocation network. This effect energetically compensates the higher strain at higher growth temperature, leading to the conclusion that, apart from the formation of misfit dislocations, their ordering represents an important channel for lattice-strain energy relaxation.
