Reflection high-energy-electron-diffraction studies of mass transport and low-temperature growth of Ag/Si(111)

Abstract

We have studied the growth modes and mass-transport mechanism of the Ag/Si(111) system by using reflection high-energy-electron-diffraction quantitative spot analysis. The growth mode at 150 K is quasi-layer-by-layer, indicating significant adatom mobility. The scaling of the specular beam intensity with time for several deposition rates suggests the absence of thermally activated diffusion. The presence of nonthermal diffusion is further confirmed from the comparison of the initial growth rates and the final full width at half maximum attained at different deposition rates for the Ag/Si(111)-(\ensuremath{\surd}3 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} \ensuremath{\surd}3 )R30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} system.