High-temperature STM for atomic processes on semiconductor surfaces

This paper describes a new ultrahigh-vacuum scanning tunneling microscope (UHV-STM) which allows atomic-level observation as a function of temperature. It also reports on the use of this instrument for some high-temperature (HT) and low-temperature (LT) studies of semiconductor surfaces including various surface changes of the Si(111), Si(110) and Si(100) surfaces to new reconstructed structures at high temperatures, various surface behaviors, ultra-micro-processing; adsorption of different atom species and growth processes and low-temperature buckling structures of Si(100) dimer rows during ultra-low temperature observation.