Change of Si(110) reconstructed structure by Ge nanocluster formation

Yokoyama, Yuta; Yamazaki, Tatsuya; Asaoka, Hidehito  

The initial processes of Ge nano cluster formation on Si(110)-162 reconstructed structure were investigated via scanning tunneling microscopy. For a small amount of Ge deposited on Si(110)-162 single-domain structure at room temperature, the surface structure did not change significantly. After direct current heating at 973 K for 20 min, the striped structure almost broken and disordered-like structure was formed on the terrace. With increasing the annealing time, the surface structure changed from disordered-like structure to the 162 double-domain structure and pyramidal nano clusters were formed at the domain boundary. These results suggest that the surface stress was induced by Ge nano cluster formation and the double-domain structure was formed in order to relax the stress.