Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 January 2011
A self-assembly technique was used for fabrication of a Si/metal interface in nanometer scale. Fine particles of gold of nanometer-order diameter were generated by a gas-phase condensation method and deposited on a Si substrate. Through a heat treatment and a cooling process, a nanoscopic Si–Au composite structure was formed on the surface of the Si substrate. Then, surface diffusing Si atoms played an important role for fabrication of the Si–Au structure which were epitaxially grown projecting onto the substrate. Furthermore, the Si/Au interface was atomically flat with no mixed-layer formation, and the Au nanoparticles also had the same crystal orientation as that of the Si dots in spite of a large lattice constant mismatch between them. This structure was considered to be fabricated as a result of minimization of the total surface and interface energy of the Si/Au system.