The step structure of a vicinal Si(111) surface misoriented 10° to [11¯2] was studied using high-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy. Phase transitions on the vicinal Si(111) surface were observed in real time on an atomic scale. During cooling from above the (1 x 1)-to-(7 x 7) transition temperature, slender (111) facets with a 7 x 7 structure appear, and these facets widen as the temperature decreases. At the initial stage of step bunching, no surface reconstruction was observed on the step bunch. Below 700C, however, nucleation of reconstructed (331) facets starts on the step bunch.

High-Temperature Scanning-Tunnelling-Microscopy Observation of Phase Transitions and Reconstruction on a Vicinal Si(111) Surface. H.Hibino, T.Fukuda, M.Suzuki, Y.Homma, T.Sato, M.Iwatsuki, K.Miki, H.Tokumoto: Physical Review B, 1993, 47, 13027-30