Microstructure and Local Density of States of Ruthenium Silicide on Si(001) Surface

Abstract

Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we observed the formation process of ruthenium silicide on a monolayer Ru-deposited Si(001) surfaces at high temperature. Ruthenium silicide islands of nanometer scale are formed after heating to 1400 K. They tend to be aligned in the [110] and ½1 10 directions. Locally observed spectroscopic results were compared with other spectral data. Large islands showed compositional inhomogeneity, with a widened band gap near the interface with the Si substrate, suggesting that growth of the islands occurs due to incorporation of Si atoms from the edges of nearby steps.

Nanoscale relaxation in Ru–Si growth on a silicon (111) surface

“…, the slope changes between B–C and A–B (emphasized by gray line segments). We measured scanning tunneling spectra and found the electronic states differ considerably between the two slopes . This suggests the existence of a buffer layer that serves to relax the distortion at the interface between the Si substrate and Ru 2 Si 3 .…”