Scanning tunneling microscopy and noncontact atomic force microscopy have been
used to observe germanium growth on Si(001) and Si(111). The atomically resolved
images provide invaluable information on heteroepitaxial film growth from the viewpoints
of both industrial application and basic science.We briefly review the history of
characterizing heteroepitaxial elemental semiconductor systems by means of scanning
probe microscopy (SPM), where the Stranski–Krastanov growth mode can be observed
on the atomic scale: the detailed phase transition from layer-by-layer growth to
three-dimensional cluster growth was elucidated by the use of SPM. In addition, we
comment on the potential of SPM for examining the spectroscopic aspects of
heteroepitaxial film growth, through the use of SPM tips with well-defined facets.