Lateral motion of SiGe islands driven by surface-mediated alloying.

SiGe islands move laterally on a Si(001) substrate during in situ postgrowth annealing. This surprising behavior is revealed by an analysis of the substrate surface morphology after island removal using wet chemical etching. We explain the island motion by asymmetric surface-mediated alloying. Material leaves one side of the island by surface diffusion, and mixes with additional Si from the surrounding surface as it redeposits on the other side. Thus the island moves laterally while becoming larger and more dilute.