Title: Roughening instability and evolution of the Ge(001) surface during ion sputtering
Abstract: We have investigated the temperature-dependent roughening kinetics of Ge surfaces during low energy ion sputtering using energy dispersive x-ray reflectivity. At 150 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C and below, the surface is amorphized by ion impact and roughens to a steady state small value. At 250 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C the surface remains crystalline, roughens exponentially with time, and develops a pronounced ripple topography. At higher temperature this exponential roughening is slower, with an initial sublinear time dependence. A model that contains a balance between smoothing by surface diffusion and viscous flow and roughening by atom removal explains the kinetics. Ripple formation is a result of a curvature-dependent sputter yield.
Publication Year: 1994
Publication Date: 1994-05-09
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref', 'pubmed']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 354
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot