Characterization of terraces and steps on Cl-terminated Ge(111) surfaces after HCl treatment in N2 ambient.

Germanium (Ge) is a promising substrate for semiconductor devices in the near future. However, wet-chemical preparations that enable the control of the structure of the Ge surface have not yet been developed. In this study, the surface structure of Ge(111) after HCl treatment is characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM).