Ge growth on high-indexed Si (1110) is shown to result in the spontaneous formation of a perfectly {105} faceted one-dimensional nanoripple structure. This evolution differs from the usual Stranski-Krastanow growth mode because from initial ripple seeds a faceted Ge layer is formed that extends down to the heterointerface. Ab initio calculations reveal that ripple formation is mainly driven by lowering of surface energy rather than by elastic strain relief and the onset is governed by the edge energy of the ripple facets. Wavelike ripple replication is identified as an effective kinetic pathway for the transformation process.

We have investigated strain compensated Si/Si0.2Ge0.8 multilayers, which were grown pseudomorphically on relaxed Si0.5Ge0.5 pseudosubstrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The stability of these highly strained Si/SiGe structures upon in situ annealing has been measured by means of x-ray reflectivity (XRR) up to 830°C. The temporal evolution of XRR reciprocal space maps was recorded, and a gradual disappearance of the multilayer structure was detected after annealing for 7 h at a temperature of 790°C. From the temporal evolution of the optical constants of the layers, deduced from the simulations and fits of the specular reflectivity, we obtained an interdiffusion coefficient D = (1.01 ± 0.03) × 10−21 m2 s−1 at 790°C.

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