Metastable states in the interface of constrained Zn dots and Si(111), and related physical phenomena

A strategic magnetron radio frequency sputtering is performed to fabricate Zn nano dots coherently grown on Si(111) substrate from a liquid phase to a solid phase. The structural evolution of constrained Zn dots grown on Si(111) were systematically analyzed by a compensative optical methods (Reflective second harmonic generation (RSHG) and synchrotron XRD). Under kinetic-favoring growth, tiny Zn dots prefer arranging themselves with a tilted c-axis to the Si(111) substrate toward any of the sixfold in-plane Si<110> directions. Upon growth, Zn dots would evolve themselves to a metastable state with a smaller tilting angle toward selective <110> directions. Metastables states existing in the interface of partially constrained Zn dots and Si(111) suppress the development of complete relaxation and then the critical dot size of full relaxation would be extended. We analyzed the relaxation and reconstraint of Zn nanodots on Si(111) by the structural evolution of constrained Zn dots via thermal annealing. The competition between reconstraint and relaxation of Zn dots on Si(111) due to thermal disturbance, the influence of metastable states to the further relaxation of constrained Zn dots due to thermal budge.