THE ROLE OF TRANSIENT ION-INDUCED DEFECTS IN ION-BEAM-ASSISTED GROWTH

Low-energy ion bombardment, concurrent with growth, can control and im prove many aspects of film growth, but confirming the atomistic mechan ism responsible for these effects has been difficult. We present a sim ple picture of ion beam-assisted deposition as the interaction of grow th-induced and ion-induced surface defects (adatoms and vacancies). We use kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate that low-energy io n bombardment in conjunction with growth produces a smoother surface m orphology than either growth or ion bombardment alone by destabilizing surface clusters and promoting step flow growth. (C) 1995 American In stitute of Physics.