Antimony layers deposited on a Si(113)3 x 2 surface were investigated with low energy electron diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. No long-range order was obtained in the room temperature grown Sb layer. Post-growth annealing at about 100C restores long-range order and produces two-domain sixfold symmetric hexagonal structure. The tilted angle between two domains was 33.6°, which corresponded to the angle between [¯741] and [4¯71] direction on bulk-terminated Si(113) plane. Sb (MNN) and Si (LMM) Auger electron spectroscopy peak-to-peak intensities as a function of Sb deposition time at 100C indicate that the overlayer structure grows a layer-by-layer fashion on the Si(113) surface at least up to two full molecule layer. Simple overlayer structure model, which consisted of Sbn (n = 1–4) molecules, was suggested. Depending on the substrate temperatures above 300C and Sb coverages, the 1 x 1, 2 x 2, and 2 x 5 reconstructions were formed successively. Oxygen exposure showed quite different surface chemical reactivities depending on the surface structures. The 1 x 1 and 2 x 2 surfaces were strongly passivated, on the other hand, the 2 x 5 surface reacts with oxygen relatively well. The different chemical reactivity was explained by the existence of the Sb lone pairs and Si dangling bonds in the unit cells.

Epitaxial Growth of Sb Thin Film and Chemical Reaction of Sb-Induced Surface Reconstruction on Si(113)-3 x 2. K.S.An, C.C.Hwang, Y.K.Kim, E.S.Cho, C.Y.Park, A.Kakizaki: Surface Science, 2001, 492[1-2], L705-10