Influence of interfactants on thin metal film growth

The growth of Pb on Si(1 1 1) with and without Ag as an interfactant is studied in the temperature range from 270 to 375 K by microscopy and spectroscopy. Whereas Pb grows on the Si(1 1 1)-7×7 surface in the Stranski–Krastanov (SK) mode, the growth mode on the Si(1 1 1)-√3×√3-R30°-Ag surface changes from layer-by-layer below 300 K to SK mode above 300 K. Spectroscopy shows that Ag remains at the interface between the substrate and the growing Pb film. The influence of the interfactant on the growth is attributed to the increase of the island density by an order of magnitude and to the changes of the growth kinetics resulting from this increase.