Coherent X-ray measurement of step-flow propagation during growth on polycrystalline thin film surfaces.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31201329.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-019-10629-8 and PMC identifier 6570654.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The properties of artificially grown thin films are strongly affected by surface processes during growth. Coherent X-rays provide an approach to better understand such processes and fluctuations far from equilibrium. Here we report results for vacuum deposition of C<sub>60</sub> on a graphene-coated surface investigated with X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy in surface-sensitive conditions. Step-flow is observed through measurement of the step-edge velocity in the late stages of growth after crystalline mounds have formed. We show that the step-edge velocity is coupled to the terrace length, and that there is a variation in the velocity from larger step spacing at the center of crystalline mounds to closely-spaced, more slowly propagating steps at their edges. The results extend theories of surface growth, since the behavior is consistent with surface evolution driven by processes that include surface diffusion, the motion of step-edges, and attachment at step edges with significant step-edge barriers.