Temperature dependence of kinetic roughening during metal(100) homoepitaxy: transition between 'mounding' and smooth growth

From simulations of a realistic lattice-gas model for metal(100) homoepitaxy, we analyze the temperature (T) dependence of the film roughness (or interface width), of the effective roughening exponent, of the local step-density, and of the persistence of the Bragg intensity oscillations. By also analyzing the dependence on T of the lateral mass currents of deposited atoms, we reveal a kinetic phase transition from a regime of 'mounding' at higher T, to a regime of 'reentrant' smooth growth at lower T. Application of these results for the cases of Ag, Fe, and Cu homoepitaxy is discussed. Finally, we also describe some features of the dynamics of deposited atoms that could lead to the recovery of rough growth at very low T. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.