Evidence for Family-Meakin dynamical scaling in island growth and coalescence during vapor phase deposition

Using real-time grazing-incidence small-angle x-ray scattering, we find that the processes of island formation and coalescence during the room-temperature vapor phase deposition of aluminum lead to dynamical scaling of the evolving surface morphology. The scaling is quantitatively consistent with th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2012-09, Vol.109 (10), p.106102-106102, Article 106102
Main Authors: Arslan, Leyla Colakerol, Sanborn, Christopher, Anzenberg, Eitan, Ludwig, Jr, Karl F
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Using real-time grazing-incidence small-angle x-ray scattering, we find that the processes of island formation and coalescence during the room-temperature vapor phase deposition of aluminum lead to dynamical scaling of the evolving surface morphology. The scaling is quantitatively consistent with the self-similarity predicted by the Family-Meakin model, which was developed to describe liquid droplet deposition, growth, and coalescence. The Family-Meakin model assumes only that atomic diffusion over the substrate between islands or droplets is negligible and that diffusion between impinging islands or droplets is sufficient to give complete coalescence. Therefore the dynamical scaling morphology evolution identified here may be common in the initial stages of those solid film growth processes which proceed by island formation and growth.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.106102