Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
The step structure of a vicinal Si (111) surface misoriented 10^ to 112 is studied using high-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Phase transitions on the vicinal Si (111) surface are observed in real time on an atomic scale. During cooling from above the (11) -to- (77) transition temperature, slender (111) facets with a 77 structure appear, and these facets widen as the temperature decreases. At the initial stage of step bunching, no surface reconstruction is observed on the step bunch. Below 700 ^, however, nucleation of reconstructed (331) facets starts on the step bunch. These STM results are compared with our previous reflection high-energy electron-diffraction results Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 30, 1337 (1991).
Hibino et al. (Sat,) studied this question.