SURFACE ETCHING AND ENHANCED DIFFUSION DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF THEGROWTH OF CO ON CU(111)

The deposition of Co on Cu(111) at room temperature gives rise to the appearance of monoatomically-high, laterally extended holes, as well a s room temperature motion of surface features, which is observed in re al time by a scanning tunneling microscope. The holes are produced by a spontaneous surface etching process related to the formation of a su rface alloy which, in turn, produces an enhancement of the surface dif fusion. As a result of these phenomena there is a noticeable and unexp ected mass transport at the surface during growth. We illustrate how t hese processes have an impact on the growth mode of Co on Cu(111).