title: Crystalline structures and misfit strain inside Er silicide nanocrystals self-assembled on Si(001) substrates.
abstract: The morphology and crystalline structure of Er silicide nanocrystals self-assembled on the Si(001) substrate were investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that the nanowires and nanorods formed at 630 °C has dominant hexagonal AlB(2)-type structure, while inside the nanoislands self-organized at 800 °C the tetragonal ThSi(2)-type structure is prevalent. The lattice analysis via cross-sectional high-resolution TEM demonstrated that internal misfit strain plays an important role in controlling the growth of nanocrystals. With the relaxation of strain, the nanoislands could evolve from a pyramid-like shape into a truncated-hut-like shape.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Yueqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Junqiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Qun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cai