Self-assembly of Si nanoclusters on 6H-SiC(0001)-(3×3) reconstructed surface

Abstract

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to observe the formation of metastable (6×6)-Si nanoclusters (diameter ∼16.5±0.1A) on 6H-SiC(0001)-(3×3) surface. STM and XPS data suggest that these clusters are derived from the ejection of the Si-tetracluster unit of the initial (3×3) reconstruction at elevated temperatures and occur in a less Si-rich environment than the initial surface. The observed surface restructuring is related to the reconfiguration of coplanar Si bonds within the (3×3) unit cell. The occurrence of these regularly sized "magic" clusters demonstrates the potential of nanostructure formation of Si on SiC. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.