Ag growth on Si with an Sb surfactant investigated by LEED and STM

We have investigated the growth mode of ultrathin Ag films on a Si(111) surface with an Sb surfactant using LEED and STM in a UHV system. On the Sb passivated Si surface, the uniformity of films was largely improved compared to the Ag growth on clean Si(111). By the thermal annealing of Ag film on Sb passivated Si(111), the large 3 dimensional (3D) islands were formed, but their height-to-width ratio is not so large. The Sb-terminated Si surface rigidly persists through the Ag deposition and thermal treatment. The crystal orientation of Ag islands are also discussed.