FLUX-DEPENDENT SCALING BEHAVIOR IN CU(100) SUBMONOLAYER HOMOEPITAXY

The average separation of two-dimensional islands in Cu(100) submonola yer homoepitaxy as a function of the deposition flux at 213K has been studied using spot profile analysis low-energy electron diffraction. A s the flux decreases, a large change in the apparent critical island s ize; from one to a value between seven and 12 atoms, is obtained even though the temperature is held constant. This is shown to be consisten t with a recently proposed dimer shearing mechanism which has a signif icant influence on the stability of islands with eight atoms or less. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.