Observation of Ultrathin Precursor Film Formation during Ge–Si Liquid-Phase Epitaxy from an Undersaturated Solution

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• 作者：Vedran VonkDiego Pontoni ; Melissa Cremers ; Anne Kerkenaar ; Arno A. C. Bode ; Wiesiek Szweryn ; Gregor Nowak ; Aryan E. F. de Jong ; Helmut Dosch ; Elias Vlieg
• 刊名：Langmuir
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：January 24, 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：33
• 期：3
• 页码：814-819
• 全文大小：396K
• ISSN：1520-5827

文摘

Our in situ X-ray study shows that a silicon substrate in contact with an undersaturated In(Ge) solution is wetted by an approximately 1 nm thin germanium film, which does not grow any thicker. The results can be understood by the use of thickness-dependent correlated interfacial energies. This near-equilibrium heterogeneous interface structure marks the initial stage of crystal growth before the formation of bulk material, which can only form under conditions of supersaturation. This finding uncovers a fundamental aspect of the thermodynamics at solid–liquid interfaces relevant for understanding the transition from equilibrium to supersaturation and is of importance for nanoscale solution growth methods.