Abstract
Interface roughness is one of the central features in many important thin film technologies. Roughness is a result of far from equilibrium dynamic growth process and is difficult to describe using conventional statistical mechanics. Recently a dynamic scaling hypothesis has been proposed to describe such a system in which both time and space scaling are considered simultaneously. This approach has generated tremendous interest, both theoretical and experimental, for scientists working in thin film growth/etching as well as many diverse fields. In this paper we shall discuss the origin of the formation of interface roughness, the difference between near equilibrium and far from equilibrium growth problems, the relevant parameters that are necessary to describe a rough interface, and the application of the self-affine scaling concept in growth problems. The experimental approaches to study rough interfaces and growth fronts using diffraction will be summarized. It is shown that there exist two types of dynamic scaling during growth, one with a stationary local slope and another one with a nonstationary local slope. Future directions in this new area of research are highlighted.
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Lu, TM., Yang, HN. & Wang, GC. When Interface Gets Rough…. MRS Online Proceedings Library 367, 283–292 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-367-283
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-367-283