Topography of the Si(111) surface during silicon molecular-beam epitaxy

A one-to-one correspondence of silicide interface dislocations to Si(111) surface steps has been discovered for epitaxial silicide layers grown at room temperature. This has allowed the examination, by transmission electron microscopy, of the topography of large areas of the Si surface after various treatments. Growth modes of molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) at different temperatures and growth rates are clearly displayed and explained. A change of step character from 〈112{}〉 to 〈11{}2〉 at the initial stage of MBE is observed and is attributed to the stabilities of the two types of steps in relationship to the 7×{}7 structure.