An investigation was made, of the basic surface reconstruction of Si(100) on well-defined surfaces fabricated on various substrates at below 80K, by scanning tunnelling microscopy. Below 40K, the single p(2 x 2) phase (then never observed before) was observed only on n-type substrates doped in the range of 0.002 to 0.017Ωcm. The possibility of the (2 x 1) symmetrical dimer, commonly observed below 10K, was also excluded from being the basic surface reconstruction by showing that a buckled dimer could be flip-flopped by the tunnelling microscope tip.

p(2 x 2) Phase of Buckled Dimers of Si(100) Observed on n-Type Substrates Below 40K by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy. K.Hata, S.Yoshida, H.Shigekawa: Physical Review Letters, 2002, 89[28], 286104 (4pp)