Electronic versus lattice match for metal-semiconductor epitaxial growth: Pb on Ge(111)

Lattice match is important for epitaxial growth. We show that a competing mechanism, electronic match, can dominate at small film thicknesses for metal-semiconductor systems, where quantum confinement and symmetry requirements may favor a different growth pattern. For Pb(111) on Ge(111), an accidental lattice match leads to a √3 × √3 configuration involving a 30° in-plane rotation at large film thicknesses, but it gives way to an incommensurate (1 × 1) configuration at small film thickness. The transformation follows an approximately inverse-film-thickness dependence with superimposed bilayer oscillations.