The pre-adsorption of Ga on Si(112) led to a marked change in the morphology of subsequently grown Ge islands. In contrast to the case of Ge growth on bare Si(112), even nanowire growth could be achieved on Ga-terminated Si(112). Using low-energy electron microscopy and low-energy electron diffraction, the initial phase of Ge nucleation and Ge island growth was systematically analysed for growth temperatures of between 420 and 610C, on both clean and Ga-terminated Si(112). In both cases, the island density exhibited an Arrhenius-like behaviour, from which diffusion barrier heights of about 1.3 and 1.0eV were deduced for growth with and without Ga pre-adsorption, respectively. The Ge island shape on the bare Si(112) surface was found to be nearly circular over the whole temperature range, whereas the shapes of the Ge islands on the Ga-terminated Si(112) became highly anisotropic for higher temperatures.

Temperature Dependent Low Energy Electron Microscopy Study of Ge Island Growth on Bare and Ga Terminated Si(112). M.Speckmann, T.Schmidt, J.I.Flege, J.T.Sadowski, P.Sutter, J.Falta: Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter, 2009, 21[31], 314020