Strain relief and ordering of (2×n)‐Bi structure on Si(100)

(2×n)‐Bi phases formed on the Si(100) surface are studied using scanning tunneling microscopy and low‐energy electron diffraction. A series of well‐ordered (2×n) superlattices with n ranging from 5 to 12 are observed, resulting from the ordering of the missing Bi‐dimer rows in the (2×1) Bi overlayer. Long stripes of the (2×n) unit meshes separated by missing Bi rows with almost perfect periodicities of n are found to extend through the whole terraces. The periodicity of n in the striped (2×n) structures depends on the Bi coverage and the annealing temperature. The formation of successive phases of the (2×n) structures as a function of coverage and annealing temperatures reflects various strain relief processes in the direction of the compressed Bi‐dimer rows by creating missing rows and line dislocations as well as rectangular vacancies. The remarkable long‐range ordering of missing Bi rows in the compressed Bi overlayer suggests the presence of strong repulsive long‐range elastic interaction among missin...