Silicon thin films deposited on Ag(001): growth and temperature behavior

This paper presents an experimental study by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the growth and thermal behavior of silicon on Ag(0 0 1). The growth mode is studied at room temperature and reveals a nearly layer-by-layer type growth mode, up to 5 ML (monolayers). No specific superstructure is observed during the growth. The dissolution kinetics at 480°C of 5 ML of silicon shows a rapid decrease of the Auger silicon signal up to a plateau. The step-like shape of the kinetics and the SEM observations after the annealing are interpreted as due to the formation of small silicon clusters randomly distributed on the surface.