ELECTRON ELASTIC-SCATTERING STUDY OF THIN-FILM GROWTH MODE - RH ON AL2O3

Determination of the thin film growth mode during the early stage of t he growth, i.e. in the submonolayer region, requires a ?st surface lay er sensitive method. Auger electron spectroscopy that gives informatio ns on the composition of few first atomic layers cannot be used in thi s purpose without ambiguity. In this paper we show that the elastic el ectron scattering can be used as a morphology sensitive probe in the c ase of ultra-thin metallic layers deposited on oxide substrates. Rh fi lms were grown on polycrystalline gamma-alumina at room temperature. V ariation of elastically scattered electron current (elastic reflectivi ty) during the growth was used for determination of the relative Rh co verage. If was shown that the formation of the three dimensional small cluster structure covering up to 75% of the substrate surface was fol lowed by coalescence and an increase of the free surface area. (C) 199 8 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.