Model reconstructions for the Si(337) orientation

An investigation of the Si(337)-(2x1) reconstructions is presented to search for the most favorable atomic configuration based on a genetic algorithm, coupled with a highly optimized empirical potential (HOEP) for silicon. The findings lend support to the minimization approach adopted, thus showing that sampling the configuration space using the HOEP potential is a versatile way to find good candidate reconstructions for high-index Si surfaces.