Hydrogen-induced instability of the Ge(105) surface

Phys Rev Lett. 2005 Mar 4;94(8):086105. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.086105. Epub 2005 Mar 4.

Abstract

The structure and stability of the hydrogen-terminated (105) surface of Ge deposited on Si(105) substrates are investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Investigations combining STM, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and theory reveal that Si incorporation into the surface Ge layer of hydrogen-terminated Ge/Si(105) drastically destabilizes the surface. The STM images obtained on this surface are well explained by the recently established rebonded-step structure model.