EFFECT OF ENERGETIC PARTICLES ON ISLAND FORMATION IN SPUTTER-DEPOSITION OF PT ON PT(111)

During ion beam sputter deposition besides the deposited atoms, which reach the substrate with kinetic energies in the 10 eV range, a certai n amount of energetic particles also hit the substrate. These particle s which have been reflected or sputtered at the target represent only a small fraction of the atoms reaching the substrate, but have energie s of the order of the sputtering beam. The influence of these particle s on the island formation of Pt films an a Pt(111) surface has been ex amined by variation of the deposition geometry, the primary ion energy , and the substrate temperature. It is demonstrated that the main effe ct is a dramatic increase in island density. The experimental results are in quantitative agreement with the results of a newly developed co mputer code. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.