ROLE OF SURFACE RECONSTRUCTION IN Si AND Ge MBE ON Si.

The initial stages of interface formation are critical to the successful molecular beam epitaxial growth of semiconductor structures. The initial step involves the deposition of semiconductor material onto a reconstructed surface, where atomic positions can be very different from the 'bulk-like' configuration. Under the proper conditions this reconstructed surface 'reorders' giving rise to a well-ordered interface. The authors report measurements of this reordering phenomena as a function of temperature for Ge ans Si epitaxy on Si(100) and Si(111).