Spiral Surface Growth without Desorption

Journal Article · Sun Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1998 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.4444· OSTI ID:664737

Karma, A; Plapp, M ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics and Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Complex Systems, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 (United States)

Spiral surface growth is well understood in the limit where the step motion is controlled by the local supersaturation of adatoms near the spiral ridge. In epitaxial thin-film growth, however, spirals can form in a step-flow regime where desorption of adatoms is negligible and the ridge dynamics is governed by the nonlocal diffusion field of adatoms on the whole surface. We investigate this limit numerically using a phase-field formulation of the Burton-Cabrera-Frank model, as well as analytically. Quantitative predictions, which differ strikingly from those of the local limit, are made for the selected step spacing as a function of the deposition flux, as well as for the dependence of the relaxation time to steady-state growth on the screw dislocation density. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society }

• DOE Contract Number: FG02-92ER45471
• OSTI ID: 664737
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 20 Vol. 81; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
ADSORPTION
DESORPTION
DIFFUSION
EPITAXY
GROWTH
RELAXATION
SCREW DISLOCATIONS
SIMULATION
SPIRAL CONFIGURATION
SUPERSATURATION
SURFACES
THIN FILMS