Manganese Nanostructures on Si(100)(2 × 1) Surfaces: Temperature-Driven Transition from Wires to Silicides

• Published in: Journal of physical chemistry. C 2010-11, Vol.114 (46), p.19727-19733
• Main Authors: Nolph, C. A., Simov, K. R., Liu, H., Reinke, P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: C: Surfaces, Interfaces, Catalysis
• ISSN: 1932-7447; 1932-7455
• DOI: 10.1021/jp105620d

The Si(100)(2 × 1) surface serves as a template for the formation of Mn wires at room temperature, which are the starting point for the annealing experiments discussed here. The evolution of the Mn surface structures as a function of annealing temperature was observed with scanning tunneling microscopy for the temperature range between 115 and 600 °C and establishes a surface phase diagram for the Mn−Si(100)(2 × 1) system. The stability of the Mn nanowires is limited; they break up below 115 °C (the lowest annealing temperature studied), and ultrasmall clusters are formed. These clusters are initially positioned on the terraces but migrate to the step edges at around 250 °C, which sets the limit for the Mn surface diffusion length. At around 300 °C the Mn adatoms move into subsurface sites, and the empty and filled states images strongly indicate that Mn acts as an acceptor in this near-surface region. A further increase in temperature leads to the formation of large crystallites (several tens of nanometers), which exhibit the characteristic shape associated with Mn silicides. The modification of the Si surface with temperature is characterized by the dramatic increase in the defect population (defect density and size and step edge roughness). The condensation of dimer vacancies begins around 200 °C and progresses to the formation of long dimer vacancy lines at elevated temperatures. The step edge roughness and the step edge formation energies were calculated for SA and SB steps, and their modulation with annealing temperature illustrates the impact of Mn on the defect and kink stabilities. These data will be used to perform a thermodynamic and kinetic modeling of defect population in the presence of Mn at moderate substrate temperatures. This study presents a surface phase diagram, which includes the evolution of the Mn nanostructures and the modification of the Si surface. The identification of near-surface layers of Mn acceptors is particularly relevant for the design of basic building blocks for future Si-based spintronics.