Chandola, S.; Nickel, N.H.; Plaickner, J.; Hinrichs, K.; Rappich, J.; Esser, N.: Initial Stages of Palladium Growth on Vicinal Si(001)-(2x1) Surfaces. Physica Status Solidi B 262 (2025), p. 2400655/1-9
10.1002/pssb.202400655
Open Accesn Version
Abstract:
The early growth stages of Palladium (Pd) on Si(001) have been studied in-situ by Reflectance Anisotropy Spectroscopy (RAS) and Raman spectroscopy in UHV. Two vicinal Si(001) samples with different degrees of surface ordering are investigated, revealing a distinct Volmer-Weber-type growth behavior. Ex-situ Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) shows an inhomogeneous surface covered with islands on the less ordered substrate, while a complex layer with circular structures related to a nucleation-controlled phase transition as previously reported is found on the well-ordered sample. By Raman spectroscopy, a silicide- like reacted phase at the Si-Pd interface is identified which is promoted by annealing up to 600 °C. The appearance of several additional phonon modes due to the interface reaction is in very good agreement with vibrational modes obtained from ab initio calculations for Pd incorporation into Si surface layers.