Strain induced intermixing of Ge atoms in Si epitaxial layer on Ge(111)

Abstract

The relationship between strain and effective mass of the √3 × √3-Ag structure surface metallic state, when formed on strained Si(111) layers on Ge(111), has been investigated by angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy at various film thicknesses. Si layer lattice spacing expands and effective mass decreases at film thickness greater than 2 bilayers. This result is inconsistent with a previous study showing increasing effective mass with tensile strain for the √3 × √3-Ag structure. Ge-3d core level photoelectron spectra confirm that this disparity is caused by the intermixing of Ge atoms in the Si layer. The relationship between effective mass and strain is useful for gauging intermixing, and the effective mass of surface metallic states is useful for gauging nanoscale strain.