Order and disorder in edge-supported pure amorphous Si and pure amorphous Si on Si(001)

We report results from an investigation into hidden anisotropy in pure fully-dense amorphous silicon. For amorphous silicon in intimate contact with a crystalline Si(001) substrate, one can reasonably expect that the interface with the substrate may impose anisotropy in the form of distorted ordering within the film. Indeed, we found four-fold periodic intensity variations, with bimodal intensity centered along the substrate c-Si < 110> directions, in the X-ray scattering from a-Si on Si(001). These well-defined intensity variations disappeared entirely in X-ray scattering from edge-supported a-Si films, where there was no detectable anisotropy.

Research Highlights► We report 4-fold intensity variations in azimuthal X-ray scattering from a-Si on c-Si(001). ► The intensity increases are along the four [110] directions, with a dip in the center of each. ► The effect is explained in terms of force balance at the interface between a-Si and c-Si. ► No periodic intensity variations are observed in X-ray scattering from free-standing a-Si.