Self-assembly of parallel atomic wires and periodic clusters of silicon on a vicinal Si111 surface

Silicon self-assembly at step edges in the initial stage of homoepitaxial growth on a vicinal Si(111) surface is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy. The resulting atomic structures change dramatically from a parallel array of 0.7 nm wide wires to one-dimensionally aligned periodic clusters of diameter approximately 2 nm and periodicity 2.7 nm in the very narrow range of growth temperatures between 400 and 300 degrees C. These nanostructures are expected to play important roles in future developments of silicon quantum computers. Mechanisms leading to such distinct structures are discussed.