Characterization and fabrication of nano- and micron-sized structures on the Si surface using scanning probe microscopies

The fabrication and stability of nanostructures on the Si surface were investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). We used direct current heating to fabricate step bunch structures, 30 to 50 angstroms in size, on the Si(111) surface. Using STM, we monitored their relaxation as a function of electron bombardment heating time at 930, made quantitative comparison with a step based theory of mass transport, and found good agreement with the size scaling predictions of a locally conserved mechanism of mass transport. We then monitored the relaxation of the step bunch structures as a function of direct current heating time, and found that the presence of the electric field significantly increased the rate of the relaxation relative to the zero field case. We made quantitative comparison with a step based model modified to include a surface diffusion bias and obtained an upper limit on the effective charge of an adatom on the surface.; We also studied the step bunching effect in the temperature range 1155-1215. The step patterns on the surface were analyzed using STM and the model of Kandel and Weeks was used to calculate the anisotropy ratio on the surface. Assuming the operation of a surface diffusion bias, we calculated the effective charge of an adatom on the surface in this higher temperature range.; We used AFM to fabricate and characterize micron-sized structures on the Si(100) surface. We couple the fabrication process of Snow and Campbell to anneals in ultra-high vacuum. We then present the results of a preliminary study of the thermal decay of two-dimensional structures fabricated on the Si(100) surface.