Low energy electron microscopy of indium on Si(0 0 1) surfaces

Low energy electron microscopy is used to study the behavior of thin indium films on Si(0 0 1) surfaces from 100 °C up to 700 °C. For temperatures below 150 °C we see inversions in the LEEM dark-field image and LEED 1/2-order spot intensities as indium coverage increases from 0 to 2 ML. For temperatures between 150 and 600 °C we find the formation of a disordered and an ordered (4 × 3) indium phase on the surface. For temperatures above 500 °C we observe significant rearrangement of the Si(0 0 1) surface due to the presence of indium and etching of the Si(0 0 1) surface by indium at temperatures greater than 650 °C.