Measurements of dynamic scaling from epitaxial growth front: Fe film on Fe(001)

Abstract

Dynamic scaling behavior has been observed during the growth of Fe films on Fe(001) using high-resolution low-energy electron diffraction technique. The interface width grows with time according to the power law w\ensuremath{\sim}${\mathit{t}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\beta}}}$, with \ensuremath{\beta}=0.22\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02. Time-invariant self-affine behavior on the short-range scale has also been observed with the roughness exponent \ensuremath{\alpha}=0.79\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05. The time-invariant characteristic agrees with the recent prediction based on the dynamic scaling theory. From the measured growth exponents, we suggest that the growth of Fe film is more consistent with a conservative growth process.