Deposition of Si, Ge and C atoms onto a preliminary Si (001) substrate at various temperatures was investigated by using the molecular dynamics method. A mechanism of atomic self-assembly occurring locally on the flat terraces between steps was suggested. The diffusion and arrangement patterns of adatoms at various temperatures were observed. At 900K, the deposited atoms were more likely to form dimers in the perpendicular [110] direction due to the more favourable movement along the perpendicular [110] direction. The C adatoms were more likely to break or reconstruct the dimers on the substrate surface and have larger diffusion distances than Ge or Si adatoms. Exchanges between C adatoms and substrate atoms were obvious and the epitaxial thickness was small.

Surface Diffusion of Si, Ge and C Adatoms on Si (001) Substrate Studied by the Molecular Dynamics Simulation. Z.H.Chen, Z.Y.Yu, P.F.Lu, Y.M.Liu: Chinese Physics B, 2009, 18, 4591