ATOMIC PROCESS OF EPITAXIAL-GROWTH OF GOLD ON MAGNESIUM-OXIDE STUDIEDBY CROSS-SECTIONAL TIME-RESOLVED HIGH-RESOLUTION ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY

Gold was vacuum deposited on a (001) surface of magnesium oxide inside a high-resolution electron microscope. The atomic process of epitaxia l growth was observed cross sectionally in situ with time-resolved hig h-resolution transmission-electron microscopy. Various types of growth phenomena, such as nucleation center formation, structural fluctuatio ns, shape modulation, secondary nucleation, and coalescence, were anal yzed in real space at a spatial resolution of 0.2 nm and a time resolu tion of 1/60 s. It was found that a central corner of a cluster is tru ncated and constructed repeatedly during the growth. [S0163-1829(97)50 240-2].