title: Observation and Origin of Extraordinary Atomic Mobility at Metal-Semiconductor Interfaces at Low Temperatures.
abstract: Extraordinarily high mobility of Si and Ge atoms at semiconductor (Si, Ge)-metal (Al) interfaces is observed at temperatures as low as 80 K during thin metal film deposition. In situ x-ray photoemission spectroscopic valence-band measurements reveal a changed chemical bonding nature of the semiconductor atoms, from localized covalentlike to delocalized metalliclike, at the interface with the Al metal. The resulting delocalized bonding nature of the interfacial semiconductor atoms brings about the observed extreme enhancement of their mobility. The finding opens avenues for tailoring reaction kinetics and phase transformations in nanostructured materials, as functional thin-film systems, at ultralow temperatures by dedicated interfacial design.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Heisenbergstrasse 3, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Zumin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Joining Technologies and Corrosion, Ueberlandstrasse 129, 8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Lars P H
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Jeurgens
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Heisenbergstrasse 3, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Wilfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sigle
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Heisenbergstrasse 3, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.|Institute for Materials Science, University of Stuttgart, Heisenbergstrasse 3, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Mittemeijer