Atomic defect classification of the H–Si(100) surface through multi-mode scanning probe microscopy

From National Research Council Canada

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DOI	Resolve DOI: https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.11.119
Author	Search for: Croshaw, Jeremiah ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9164-1556; Search for: Dienel, Thomas ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8146-8841; Search for: Huff, Taleana¹ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6876-8265; Search for: Wolkow, Robert¹
Affiliation	National Research Council of Canada. Nanotechnology
Format	Text, Article
Subject	atomic force microscopy; hydrogen-terminated silicon; scanning tunnelling hydrogen microscopy; scanning tunnelling microscopy; surface metrology
Abstract	The combination of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) allows enhanced extraction and correlation of properties not readily available via a single imaging mode. We demonstrate this through the characterization and classification of several commonly found defects of the hydrogen-terminated silicon (100)-2 × 1 surface (H–Si(100)-2 × 1) by using six unique imaging modes. The H–Si surface was chosen as it provides a promising platform for the development of atom scale devices, with recent work showing their creation through precise desorption or placement of surface hydrogen atoms. While samples with relatively large areas of the H–Si surface are routinely created using an in situ methodology, surface defects are inevitably formed reducing the area available for patterning. By probing the surface using the different interactivity afforded by either hydrogen- or silicon-terminated tips, we are able to extract new insights regarding the atomic and electronic structure of these defects. This allows for the confirmation of literature assignments of several commonly found defects, as well as proposed classifications of previously unreported and unassigned defects. By combining insights from multiple imaging modes, better understanding of their successes and shortcomings in identifying defect structures and origins is achieved. With this, we take the first steps toward enabling the creation of superior H–Si surfaces through an improved understanding of surface defects, ultimately leading to more consistent and reliable fabrication of atom scale devices.
Publication date	2020-09-07
Publisher	Beilstein Institut
Licence	Creative Commons, Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
In	Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology 11: 1346–1360.
Language	English
Peer reviewed	Yes
NRC number	NRC-NANO-066
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Record identifier	42b00806-3562-4f54-988b-63a51b3d3634
Record created	2021-02-04
Record modified	2021-02-04

Date modified:: 2024-07-17