LIMITING THICKNESS HEPI FOR EPITAXIAL-GROWTH AND ROOM-TEMPERATURE SI GROWTH ON SI(100)

Si molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) on smooth Si(100) surfaces is shown to occur at room temperature. We demonstrate for the first time that Si deposition becomes amorphous after growth of a limiting epitaxial thickness (hepi). hepi is 1030 at room temperature and increases rapidly at higher temperatures with a rate-dependent activation energy in the range 0.41.5 eV. The effect is tentatively linked to surface roughening during growth at low temperatures, and is probably general in MBE, also occurring for Si/Si(111), Ge/Si(100, and GaAs/GaAs(100). © 1990 The American Physical Society.