GROWTH-MECHANISM OF LONG-CHAIN COMPOUNDS ON THE SURFACE OF AMORPHOUS-CARBON FILM WITH NORMAL MOLECULAR-ORIENTATION

A long chain compound, calcium stearate ((CH3(CH2)(16)CO2)(2)Ca), was vacuum-deposited onto an amorphous carbon film kept at 0 degrees C to form plate-like crystals, in which molecules arranged normal to the su rface. After deposition, the small crystals on the substrate were anne aled at 25-80 degrees C for 5-60 min. They coalesced with each other a nd grew larger with increasing the temperature of the substrate and th e elapsing period. The size of the crystals and the number of them in unit area were estimated by using transmission electron micrographs to confirm the mechanism of crystal growth and surface migration of long chain molecules.