Nanostaircases: An atomic shadowing instability during epitaxial CrN(001) layer growth
| Autor: | J. R. Frederick, Daniel Gall |
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| Rok vydání: | 2005 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Applied Physics Letters. 87:053107 |
| ISSN: | 1077-3118 0003-6951 |
| DOI: | 10.1063/1.2005369 |
| Popis: | Epitaxial CrN(001) layers, 57 and 230 nm thick, were grown on MgO(001) at 700 °C by ultrahigh-vacuum magnetron sputter deposition in pure N2 discharges. An oblique deposition angle α=80° was utilized to purposely increase the effect of atomic shadowing on surface morphological and microstructural evolution. The layers are single crystals with a surface morphology that is characterized by dendritic ridge patterns extending along orthogonal ⟨110⟩ directions superposed by square-shaped supermounds with ⟨100⟩ edges. The ridge patterns are due to a two-dimensional growth instability related to a gradient in the adatom density while the supermounds form due to atomic shadowing. The supermounds protrude out of the surface and capture a larger deposition flux than the surrounding layer. This leads to both vertical and lateral growth and the formation of inverted pyramids that are epitaxially embedded in a single crystalline matrix. The inverted pyramids are terminated by 1–3-nm-wide tilted voids that form nanosta... |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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