An investigation was made of the nucleation of the polycrystalline layer during Si(111) homo-epitaxial growth held at 250C by using a scanning tunneling microscopy. At the film thickness over 60 bilayers where the Si polycrystalline layer nucleated, the scanning tunnelling microscopic images showed that some narrow and long valleys along one of <1¯10> directions were formed on the growing surface, and a part of the valley was filled with Si atoms to form a 30° partial dislocation core structure. A model was proposed for the nucleation and growth of the polycrystalline layer on the Si(111), which was caused by the formation of the dislocation core structure during Si/Si(111) growth.

Nucleation of Polycrystalline Layer Induced by Formation of 30° Partial Dislocation during Si/Si(111) Growth. R.Negishi, Y.Shigeta: Surface Science, 2002, 505, 225-33