Growth of nanostructures by locally modified surface reactivity

The chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of Si and Ge on Si(0 0 1) substrates covered by 1 monolayer of Ga has been studied. Ga modifies surface reactivity and surface atom mobility. We show that islanding occurs during Ga-mediated CVD even in the absence of strain, allowing for the formation of islands without a wetting layer or with a thinner wetting layer. The morphology of the grown layer is highly dependent on kinetic parameters, i.e. growth temperature and growth pressure, that control Si and Ge deposition and Ga desorption. Si Ga-mediated CVD promotes the formation of self-assembled epitaxial Si islands exhibiting {1 1 3} facets. Ge islands grown by Ga-mediated CVD present reduced lateral sizes and an increased surface density compared to non Ga-mediated CVD. The growth morphology (particularly island size and density) can be understood by considering a qualitative model in which atoms are deposited only on sites whose dangling bonds are not passivated by Ga. We suggest that modification of surface reactivity during surfactant-mediated CVD can thus provide a new degree of freedom for quantum dot fabrication.