Growth of Mg films on H-terminated Si (111)

The growth of Mg has been examined on H-terminated Si (111) and the grown film was characterized by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy. Mg grows epitaxially on H-Si (111) in island form with an epitaxial orientation of Mg(0001) [11 (2) over bar 0]/Si(111)[1(1) over bar 0 0]. At the very initial stages of growth a contraction of the Mg lattice is observed, which might cause a shift in plasmon energy of the initial Mg aggregate. (C) 1999 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-2101(99)04205-0].