Atomic-scale recovery of defective structures of Siｖ(001) surface layer by low-energy electron irradiation

Abstract

A new mechanism of atomic-scale recovery of defective structures by irradiation of low-energy electron on the disordered surfaces of Si is presented.The atomic-scale recovery of defective structures was observed by two experimental methods : (1) surface stress measurement with using a very soft optical cantilever and (2) surface structure observation by scanning tunneling microscopy.It was found that the atomic-scale recovery of defective structures is dominated not by a thermal activation mechanism, but by a nonthermal mechanism induced by irradiated electrons.By demonstrating that surfaces under low-energy electron irradiation have the capacity of self-healing, these results suggest new opportunities for atomic scale surface recovery processes without thermal annealing at high temperatures.