Studies on the Bi ∕ Si ( 100 ) − ( 2 × 1 ) interface

Epitaxial Bi(111) films on the Si ( 100 ) − ( 2 × 1 ) surface were studied by two different scanning probe techniques, to obtain information on the buried interface. Ballistic electron emission microscopy reveals that the transmission across the Schottky barrier depends on the type of substrate terrace. The thermovoltage in scanning tunneling microscopy exhibits alternating signals for substrate step edges, which can be related to S A and S B steps, characteristic for the uncovered Si ( 100 ) − ( 2 × 1 ) surface. In addition to information about the growth mode of Bi, it was found that typical features of the Si ( 100 ) − ( 2 × 1 ) surface reconstruction are maintained.