Peculiarities of the 7 × 7 to 5 × 5 Superstructure Transition during Epitaxial Growth of Germanium on Silicon (111) Surface.

This paper presents the results of studying the processes of epitaxial growth of germanium on silicon with crystallographic orientation (111) in a wide temperature range. The temperature dependences of the duration of the transition stage from the 7 × 7 to 5 × 5 superstructure and the values of the critical thickness of the transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional growth in the range from 250 to 700 °C are determined using the reflection high-energy electron diffraction method. It was shown for the first time that the transition time from the 7 × 7 superstructure to 5 × 5 superstructure depends on the temperature of epitaxial growth.