Scanning tunneling microscopy investigations of the epitaxial growth of ZrB2 on Si(111)

By means of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM), elongated structures observed in ZrB2 thin films epitaxially grown on Si(111) have been determined to be ZrB2 crystallites misoriented from the dominant orientation of ZrB2(0001)//Si(111). The epitaxial relationships ZrB2(110)//Si(111) and ZrB2(100)//Si(111) were identified together with the in-plane ZrB2[0001]//Si[10] orientation. The surface of these crystallites exhibits a well-defined ZrB2 (100) – (2 × 6) surface re- construction, which is observed for the first time. The presence of large ZrB2(100) facets indicates that this surface contributes significantly to the growth of misoriented ZrB2 crystallites as well as to their elongated shape. (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)