Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9830177 | Journal of Crystal Growth | 2005 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
On a Si(1Â 1Â 1) vicinal face near the structural transition temperature, the 1Ã1 structure and the 7Ã7 structure coexist in a terrace: the 1Ã1 structure is in the lower side of the step edge and the 7Ã7 structure in the upper side. The diffusion coefficient of adatoms is different in the two structures. Taking account of the gap in the diffusion coefficient at the step, we study the possibility of step wandering induced by drift of adatoms. A linear stability analysis shows that the step wandering always occurs with step-down drift if the diffusion coefficient has a gap at the step. Formation of straight grooves by the step wandering is expected from a nonlinear analysis. The stability analysis also shows that step bunching occurs irrespective of the drift direction if the diffusion in the lower side of the step is faster. The step bunching disturbs the formation of grooves. If step-step repulsion is strong, however, the step bunching is suppressed and the straight grooves appear. Monte Carlo simulation confirms these predictions.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Condensed Matter Physics
Authors
Masahide Sato, Makio Uwaha, Yukio Saito,