1. Growth of Atomically Flat Ultra-Thin Ag Films on Si(111) by Introducing a √3 × √3-Ga Buffer Layer.
- Author
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He Jie-Hui, Jiang Li-Qun, Qiu Jing-Lan, Chen Lan, and Wu Ke-Hui
- Subjects
CRYSTAL growth ,TEMPERATURE effect ,ELECTRON diffraction ,METAL coating ,SILVER ,THIN films ,BUFFER layers ,GALLIUM - Abstract
It is known that, when Ag is deposited on Si(111)-7×7 substrates in a conventional growth procedure at room temperature, no atomically flat Ag film could be obtained. We use scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron diffraction to investigate the growth of ultra-thin Ag films on the Si(111) substrates at room temperature. Our study reveals that, upon introducing a Si(111)-√3 × √3-Ga buffer layer, atomically flat Ag films can easily grow on Si(111) with a critical thickness of two monolayers. Moreover, Ag film growth follows a layer-by-layer mode with further deposition. This novel growth behavior of Ag can be explained in terms of a free electron model (i.e., particle in a box) and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
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