Local nucleation of diamond heteroepitaxy on Si(100) in the initial stage and the role of atomic hydrogen

The reaction of atomic hydrogen with a C2H2-covered Si surface was studied using high-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. The findings were that atomic hydrogen broke up the C-C bond in C2H2 and the Si-Si dimer to form C-H and Si-H, respectively. In terms of experimental phenomena, a cluster model for quantum chemistry calculations was devised. The results agreed well with experiment; the role of atomic hydrogen and the nucleation mechanism of diamond heteroepitaxy on Si were discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.