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Hydrogen Ion Beam Smoothening of Oxygen Roughened Ge(001) Surfaces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

K. M. Horn
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185
E. Chason
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185
J. Y. Tsao
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185
S. T. Picraux
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185
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Abstract

A smooth Ge(001) surface can be severely roughened by chemical etching with oxygen gas and then returned to its original smoothness by exposure to hydrogen. The rate of recovery of the surface depends strongly on temperature, as well as on whether the hydrogen is introduced as a low energy ion beam or simply as a gas. The roughness induced in the surface by etching is “locked-in” after removal of the oxygen gas through pinning of ledges by residual contamination. This pinning prevents the surface from smoothening thermally. The introduction of hydrogen to the surface promotes a chemical reaction which frees the pinned sites and allows thermal smoothening to proceed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1989

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References

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