Structure Determination of the Si3N4/Si\(111\)- \(8 × 8\) Surface: A Combined Study of Kikuchi Electron Holography, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, and ab initio Calculations
Abstract
A comprehensive atomic model for the reconstructed surface of Si3N4 thin layer grown on Si(111) is presented. Kikuchi electron holography images clearly show the existence of adatoms on the Si3N4\(0001\)/Si\(111\)-\(8×8\) surface. Compared with the ab initio calculations, more than 30 symmetry-inequivalent atomic pairs in the outmost layers are successfully identified. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images show diamond-shaped unit cells and nine adatoms in each cell. High-resolution STM images reveal extra features and are in good agreement with the partial charge density distribution obtained from total-energy calculations.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review Letters
- Pub Date:
- March 2001
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.2818
- Bibcode:
- 2001PhRvL..86.2818A