D.A. Mirabella

Publications (3)1.73 Total impact

• Article: Equilibrium island size distribution in one dimension revisited: analytical models and Monte Carlo simulations

  D A Mirabella, C M Aldao
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  ABSTRACT: The island size distribution, at thermodynamic equilibrium, of interacting particles in a one-dimensional lattice-gas model is revisited. A derivation for the exact island size distribution of nearest neighbor interacting particles using the detailed balance principle is proposed and it is shown that it agrees with the distribution obtained by Gambardella et al who resorted to the minimization of the free energy (2006 Phys. Rev. B 73 245425). We find that the island size distributions change from an exponential shape to one exhibiting a maximum when repulsive interactions with distant neighbors are considered. In this work we present an analytical model that successfully reproduces the island size distribution obtained from Monte Carlo simulations for both interaction schemes and any coverage.
  Journal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment 03/2011; 2011(03):P03011. · 1.73 Impact Factor
• Article: Hillock sizes after wet etching in silicon

  D.A. Mirabella, M.P. Suárez, C.M. Aldao
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  ABSTRACT: The formation of two- and three-dimensional hillocks is regularly observed in Si(1 1 1) steps and Si(1 0 0) during wet etching. Frequently the resulting morphology consists of hillocks scattered on a landscape of limited roughness. Recently we proposed a mean field model (MFM) in which the observed hillock-and-valley pattern is possible under steady state if hillock etching is slightly faster than valley etching. This condition implies that hillock size distributions must be an exponential decreasing function. In this work, we report a systematic study of hillock size distributions of experimental morphologies obtained under different etchant concentrations in Si(1 0 0). We found that experimental hillock size distributions are in agreement with those predicted by the MFM.
  Surface Science.
• Article: Adsorbate-induced roughening of Si(100) by interactions at steps

  R. E. Butera, D. A. Mirabella, C. M. Aldao, J. H. Weaver
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  ABSTRACT: Through a detailed study of Cl adsorption on Si(100) using scanning-tunneling microscopy, we identified sites at steps where adsorption leads to roughening and the formation of extended pits and regrowth structures. Using the equilibrium occupation probabilities obtained from experiment, we were able to identify first-nearest-neighbor interactions that destabilized the surface and, when included in Monte Carlo simulations, reproduced the observed pit and regrowth structures. These findings force a reevaluation of currently proposed mechanisms for roughening.
  Phys. Rev. B. 82(4).