EVOLUTION OF MOUND MORPHOLOGY IN REVERSIBLE HOMOEPITAXY ON CU(100)

Evolution of mound morphology in reversible homoepitaxy on Cu(100) was studied via spot-profile-analysis (SPA) LEED and scanning tunneling m icroscopy. The mound separation shows coarsening vs growth time with L (t) similar to t(1/4), in support of theory based on capillarity betwe en mounds. The growth ultimately reaches a steady state characterized by a selected mound angle of similar to 5.6 degrees. We suggest that t his results from a downhill current driven by step edge line tension i n balance with an uphill current due to the Schwoebel barrier effect. Also, we have clarified the interpretation for the evolution of the SP A-LEED profile from a ring structure to a single time-invariant peak.