Unique surface structure formation on a Ge-covered Si(110)-162 surface

Yokoyama, Yuta*; Uozumi, Yuki; Asaoka, Hidehito  

Si-Ge structures forming new shapes on a Si(110)-162 reconstructed surface were investigated via scanning tunneling microscopy. Pyramidal-shaped Si-Ge nanoislands lying along the 1 1 1 directions were formed on the striped structure at Ge coverage between 3 and 6 monolayers. However, when a single monolayer of Ge was deposited on the Si(110)-162 surface, single-domain of 162 striped structure disappeared, and a new double-domain striped structure was formed over the surface along directions that differed from the 1 1 2 directions. This structure represents a new Si-Ge striped structure that forms by the mixing of Ge and Si due to high temperature annealing. These results indicate that the surface structure changes specifically with trace amounts of Ge.