GROWTH OF IRON ON IRON WHISKERS

Real space views of the homoepitaxial growth of Fe on Fe(001) whiskers is reported, observed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), during the initial stages of growth. Scaling of the Fe island sizes and separ ation distributions are observed as a function of the diffusion rate t o the deposition rate. A measure of the surface diffusion of the Fe at oms is obtained over the temperature range of 20-250-degrees-C from th e temperature dependence of the island density. The effect of the diff usion kinetics is also observed in the surface morphology as a decreas e in surface roughness with increasing temperature in thin Fe films. A comparison of real and reciprocal space techniques is obtained from a comparison of STM images and reflection-high-energy-electron-diffract ion measurements during growth.