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Science 1 September 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5791, pp. 1266 - 1269
DOI: 10.1126/science.1129342
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Reports

Anomalous Spiral Motion of Steps Near Dislocations on Silicon Surfaces

J. B. Hannon,1* V. B. Shenoy,2 K. W. Schwarz1

We have used low-energy electron microscopy to measure step motion on Si(111) and Si(001) near dislocations during growth and sublimation. Steps on Si(111) exhibit the classic rotating Archimedean spiral motion, as predicted by Burton, Cabrera, and Frank. Steps on Si(001), however, move in a strikingly different manner. Thestrain-relieving anomalous behavior can be understood in detail by considering how the local step velocity is affected by the nonuniform strain field arising from the dislocation. We show how the dynamic step-flow pattern is related to the dislocation slip system.

1 IBM Research Division, T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA.
2 Division of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jbhannon{at}us.ibm.com

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)