First-principles molecular dynamics, band-structure calculations and scanning tunnelling microscopic images were used to deduce a structural model for the (3 x 2) reconstruction of the Si-terminated (001) surface of the cubic phase. This was an alternate dimer-row model, with an excess Si coverage of 1/3. This yielded scanning tunnelling microscopic images which were in good agreement with experiment.

Theoretical Study of the (3 x 2) Reconstruction of β-SiC(001) L.Pizzagalli, A.Catellani, G.Galli, F.Gygi, A.Baratoff: Physical Review B, 1999, 60[8], R5129-32