Summary Abstract: The influence of surface reconstruction on the initial stages of silicon molecular beam epitaxy

High energy ion scattering/channeling is used to investigate the initial stages of interface formation (overlayer thickness up to ≊10 Å) during Si molecular beam epitaxy. Changes in the geometry of the Si substrate surface, i.e., reordering, and of the Si overlayer are measured as a function of Si coverage, deposition temperature, and substrate reconstruction. It is found that room temperature deposition reorders the Si(100)-2×1 substrate but not the Si(111)-7×7. On both surfaces, however, deposition at 300 K results in a highly imperfect overlayer. Epitaxial temperatures of ≊790 K for Si(111)-7×7 and of ≊570 K for Si(100)-2×1 are obtained.