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Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 1767–1770 (1995)

[Issue 9 – 28 August 1995 ]

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Dynamic Evolution of Pyramid Structures during Growth of Epitaxial Fe (001 ) Films

K. Thürmer, R. Koch, M. Weber, and K. H. Rieder

Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Experimentalphysik, Arnimallee 14, D-14195 Berlin, Germany

The growth of epitaxial Fe(001) films UHV deposited onto Mg(001) substrates has been investigated at conditions where Schwoebel barriers suppress the step-down diffusion of impinging atoms. In nearly perfect agreement with the theoretical predictions of Siegert and Plischke [Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 1517 (1994)], scanning tunneling microscopy reveals the development of mesoscopic pyramidlike structures at the surface that grow in time according to a power law of t^1/4. The dynamic nature of the growth process favors the formation of {012} rather than {011} facets as side planes of the pyramids emphasizing, in general, the importance of kinetic versus thermodynamic stability.

©1995 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v75/p1767
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.75.1767
PACS: 61.50.Cj, 61.16.Ch, 68.55.Bd

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