Breakdown of Dynamic Scaling in Surface Growth under Shadowing

M. Pelliccione, T. Karabacak, and T.-M. Lu
Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 146105 – Published 13 April 2006

Abstract

Using Monte Carlo simulations and experimental results, we show that for common thin film deposition techniques, such as sputter deposition and chemical vapor deposition, a mound structure can be formed with a characteristic length scale, or “wavelength” λ, that describes the separation of the mounds. We show that the temporal evolution of λ is distinctly different from that of the mound size, or lateral correlation length ξ. The formation of a mound structure is due to nonlocal growth effects, such as shadowing, that lead to the breakdown of the self-affinity of the morphology described by the well-established dynamic scaling theory. We show that the wavelength grows as a function of time in a power law form, λtp, where p0.5 for a wide range of growth conditions, while the mound size grows as ξt1/z, where 1/z varies depending on growth conditions.

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  • Received 8 February 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.146105

©2006 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

M. Pelliccione*, T. Karabacak, and T.-M. Lu

  • Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180-3590, USA

  • *Electronic address: pellim@rpi.edu

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Vol. 96, Iss. 14 — 14 April 2006

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