Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 4226–4229 (1997)Step Faceting at the (001) Surface of Boron Doped SiliconReceived 11 June 1997; published in the issue dated 24 November 1997 We have used low energy electron microscopy to study the energetics of steps on the (001) surface of heavily boron doped Si. When the surface is cooled below 980 °C, the SB step restructures dramatically, assuming a sawtooth profile consisting of triangular facets. The apex angle of the facets is strongly temperature dependent. By quantitative analysis of thermal step fluctuations and 2D island shapes we show that the free energy of isolated SA steps decreases sharply as the temperature is lowered. Using the Wulff construction, we demonstrate that the observed faceting is a direct consequence of the vanishing SA step free energy. © 1997 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.79.4226
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.79.4226
PACS:
68.35.Bs, 61.16.Ch, 68.35.Md, 68.55.Jk
See AlsoComment: J. P. Pelz, C. Ebner, D. E. Jones, Y. Hong, E. Bauer, and I. S. Tsong, Comment on “Step Faceting at the (001) Surface of Boron Doped Silicon”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 5473 (1998). Reply: J. B. Hannon, N. C. Bartelt, B. S. Swartzentruber, J. C. Hamilton, and G. L. Kellogg, Hannon et al. Reply:, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 5474 (1998). |
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