Control of terrace width and atomic step distribution on vicinal Si(111) surfaces by thermal processing
Si(111) surfaces misoriented by 4 degrees towards (112) have been studied by scanning tunnelling microscopy. Topographs of surfaces, produced by annealing, followed by rapid quenching, reveal a temperature-dependent transition from a structure consisting of wide irregular terraces separated by small irregular clusters of double steps to a single highly ordered phase of narrow, evenly spaced terraces separated by single monatomic steps. The quenched-in phases are stable at room temperature.