ISLAND MORPHOLOGY AND ADATOM ENERGY BARRIERS DURING HOMOEPITAXY ON CU(001)

Island morphologies and island separations were determined from the two-dimensional diffraction patterns measured with high-resolution low-energy electron diffraction during sub-monolayer homoepitaxy on the Cu(001) surface. In the temperature range considered, islands were found to have square shapes with edges along the [110] direction indicating a low energy-barrier for diffusion along close packed step edges. By measuring the temperature dependence of the average island separation in the diffusion limited steady-state growth regime, the energy barrier for adatom diffusion and the binding energy for small islands were determined.