title: Silicon epitaxy on H-terminated Si (100) surfaces at 250 °C.
abstract: Low temperature Si epitaxy has become increasingly important due to its critical role in the encapsulation and performance of buried nanoscale dopant devices. We demonstrate epitaxial growth up to nominally 25 nm, at 250°C, with analysis at successive growth steps using STM and cross section TEM to reveal the nature and quality of the epitaxial growth. STM images indicate that growth morphology of both Si on Si and Si on H-terminated Si (H: Si) is epitaxial in nature at temperatures as low as 250 °C. For Si on Si growth at 250 °C, we show that the Si epitaxial growth front maintains a constant morphology after reaching a specific thickness threshold. Although the in-plane mobility of silicon is affected on the H: Si surface due to the presence of H atoms during initial sub-monolayer growth, STM images reveal long range order and demonstrate that growth proceeds by epitaxial island growth albeit with noticeable surface roughening.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China; National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States.
authors.forename: Pradeep
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Namboodiri
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States; University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20740, United States.
authors.forename: Xiqiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States.
authors.forename: Gheorghe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stan
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States.
authors.forename: Alline F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.affiliation: School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xinbin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tongbao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States.
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Silver
keywords: H terminated Si surfaces; Low temperature Si epitaxy; scanning tunneling microscope