Epitaxial growth of Al(111)/Si(111) films using partially ionized beam deposition

We observed the growth of epitaxial Al(111) films on Si(111) at room temperature by the partially ionized beam deposition technique. The films were deposited in a conventional vacuum condition without in situ cleaning. The beam contained 0.3% of Al self-ions and a bias potential of 1 kV was applied to the substrate during deposition. X-ray diffraction (pole figure) revealed that one of the two possible twin structures, with the Al〈1̄10〉∥Si〈1̄10〉 orientation, was preferentially grown on the Si substrate.