Faceting kinetics of stepped Si(113) surfaces: A time-resolved x-ray scattering study

A time-resolved x-ray scattering study is presented of the faceting kinetics of a Si surface misoriented by 2.1° from the cubic [113] direction towards [001]. Following a quench from a one-phase region of the phase diagram into a two-phase region, a grooved superstructure forms and subsequently coarsens in time. For times between one and several hundred seconds, the surface morphology is self-similar at different times, with a characteristic groove size (L) varying as a power law versus time (t): L=L0t0.164±0.021. At later times, the groove size approaches a limiting value. © 1995 The American Physical Society.