Step Dynamics of Faceted Macrosteps

— Equilibrium and Near-equilibrium States —

Abstract

Faceted macrostep formed at equilibrium is demonstrated based on numerical calculations using the tensor network method and the Monte Carlo method. The adopted model is a lattice model where the surface roughness excitations and the step-step attractive energy (ε_int) are taken into consideration. We calculated ε_int–T and p–T faceting diagrams for faceted macrosteps where T is the temperature, and p is the surface slope for an inclined surface. Applying the faceting diagrams to Si(113)＋(114) surfaces, the step-step attractive energy is approximately 123 meV. We also discuss elementary step attachment/detachment processes to/from the faceted macrostep near equilibrium.