XPD study of atomic intermixing at the Ge/Si(001) interface

XPD (X-ray photoelectron diffraction) was used to probe the crystalline structure of 3 ML and 6 ML of Ge epitaxially grown on Si(001) surface at room and 400°C temperatures in order to check the tetragonal distortion associated with the pseudomorphic growth. Strong evidences for an interfacial intermixing and crystalline growth even at the room temperature of the substrate has been found by means of the observation of the angular behavior of the Ge 3d photoelectron peak.