Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Study of the c(4×4) Structure Formation in the Sub-Monolayer Sb/Si(100) System

Upon Sb desorption from a Sb-saturated Si(100) surface, the c(4 x 4) structure formed at about 0.25 monolayer Sb coverage. The c(4 x 4) reconstruction has been found to develop best when the surface is slightly contaminated, plausibly, by carbon. The Si(100)-c(4 x 4)-Sb surface shows up in the high-resolution filled state scanning tunneling microscopy images as being very similar to that of the recently reported e(4 x 4)-Si reconstruction. Here the main features of the Si(100)-c(4 x 4)-Sb structure are identified and the possible atomic arrangement is discussed.