UNUSUAL TEXTURING OF AR-SPUTTERED INP SURFACES ASSOCIATED WITH NI-SEEDING()

Ar+-ion sputtering under simultaneous seeding with Ni resulted in the growth of fibrous protrusions on monocrystalline InP surfaces at room temperature. Ni was incorporated within the fibers, showing that the r ole of Ni in driving the fiber growth was distinct from that of seeds in conventional cone formation. The fibers involved crystalline and am orphous domains, such that Ni atoms were preferentially incorporated i n the latter. Ni-seeding also enhanced the growth of In crystallites, and the target surface heated around 100 degrees C was occupied exclus ively by ball-like particles of In, with no fiber growth thereon. The ball-like particles possibly resulted from the ''dew condensation'' of In atoms generated by from the In-P bond rupture at the surface.