The role of the substrate surface layer in the process of epitaxy part II. substrate structure and formation of epitaxial films

Abstract

Abstract A model is presented which explains semi-quantitatively the role of the substrate surface in the epitaxy of vacuum-deposited f.c.c. metal films on alkali halide substrates. The concept of critical accommodation centres is introduced. With the aid of the model the relative nucleation densities as well as the orientations of the nuclei in the initial stages of film growth are predicted for common substrate overgrowth combinations under a variety of growth conditions. The predictions seem to be in general agreement with experimental results.