QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF THE DECAY OF INTENSITY OSCILLATIONS IN TRANSIENT LAYER-BY-LAYER GROWTH

An analytical formula for the diffraction from an initial transient layer-by-layer growth front has been derived. The approach utilizes recently developed dynamic scaling models which describe the growth-induced roughening evolution at the late stage of growth. The results can be applied to both out-of-phase and non-out-of-phase diffraction conditions. At the out-of-phase conditions, the Bragg peak intensity is given by IBragge-π2w2[1+cos(2πh)], which oscillates with the growth of the film thickness h but decays with the increase of the interface width w due to the growth-induced roughening. The derived diffraction formula is consistent with the peak intensity oscillation obtained from a transient layer-by-layer process observed in low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy growth of Si/Si(111). © 1995 The American Physical Society.