Erbium silicide nanostructures self-assembled on Si(001) by cyclic growth

Erbium silicide nanostructures were self assembled on the Si(001) substrates by novel multiple deposition and annealing steps. In-situ scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and ex-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the morphology of the nanostructures. Compared with traditional growth method, it was found that ErSi2 nanostructures fabricated by cyclic growth could keep stable morphology avoiding the shape instability. Besides, both the size and distribution density could be well controlled, which have significance in the application of nanostructures.