Fabrication and scanning tunneling microscopy studies of the Si(1 1 1)-(√31 × √31)–In surface

We report on the fabrication of single phase of the Si(1 1 1)-(√31 × √31)–In reconstruction surface, observed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at room temperature. By depositing specific amounts of indium atoms while heating the Si(1 1 1)-(7 × 7) substrate at a critical temperature, the single phase of Si(1 1 1)-(√31 × √31)–In surfaces could be routinely obtained over the whole surface with large domains. This procedure is certified by our high-resolution STM images in the range of 5–700 nm. Besides, the high resolution STM images of the Si(1 1 1)-(√31 × √31)–In surface were also presented.