Studies were made of the group-III/IV(113) systems of Al, Ga and In on Si(113) and Ge(113), using low-energy electron diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. Low-energy electron diffraction showed that, after being annealed, the surfaces of the Al/Si, Ga/Si and In/Ge systems faceted to give (103), (013), (112) and (115) facets, while those of the In/Si, Al/Ge and Ga/Ge systems reconstructed to (113)-(1 x 2). Over the entire ranges of coverage and annealing temperature used, none of the six systems formed (113)-(1 x 1). Combining this observation with the results of previous work on group-III/IV(001) and group-III/IV(111), it was suggested that the common characteristics of all of the stable surface structures of the III/IV systems were that the group 13 atoms formed sp2-like back bonds, and that the surface contained some group-IV atoms with a dangling bond. The former was an intrinsic requirement of group-III atoms, while the latter facilitated relief of the strain induced by the former, and was therefore thought to be more general.

Surface Reconstruction and Faceting of Group III/IV(113) Systems - Common Characteristics of the Stable Surface Structures. H.Ji, R.G.Zhao, W.S.Yang: Surface Science, 1997, 371[2-3], 349-57