2-DIMENSIONAL DYNAMICAL MODEL FOR STEP BUNCHING AND PATTERN-FORMATIONINDUCED BY SURFACE RECONSTRUCTION

Surface reconstruction on sufficiently wide terraces on a vicinal surf ace can cause the formation of step bunches. We consider this process in the nucleation regime using a two-dimensional (2D) dynamical model that describes both surface reconstruction and the effects of the grow th of a reconstructed facet on the motion of neighboring steps. When t here is local mass transport, we show that the growth of a reconstruct ed facet can induce the growth of a similar facet nearby, leading to r egular arrangements of flat facets separated by step bunches and to ot her characteristic 2D step patterns. [S0163-1829(98)02108-0].