STM characterization of Cu thin films grown by direct ion deposition

In certain cases, the incidence energy of constituent atoms activates an atomistic insertion mechanism, which decreases the surface roughness of metal thin films. In an effort to probe this effect, homoepitaxial copper films were grown using a mass/energy selected direct ion deposition technique that allows precise control of the incidence energy. Surface roughness is measured using a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) within the same UHV surface analysis system. The activation of the insertion mechanism near 20 eV triggers smoother crystal growth. The beneficial effects begin to be obscured by adatom/vacancy creation near 30 eV. A sophisticated Kinetic Monte Carlo/Molecular Dynamics (KMC-MD) model supports this interpretation.