Morphological Organizations in Epitaxial Growth and Removal (Series on Directions in Condensed Matter Physics, Vol 14)

Provides a critical assessment of the current status and the likely future directions of thin-film growth. The text's emphasis is on descriptions of atomic-scale mechanisms controlling the dynamics and thermodynamics of the morphological evolution of the growth front of thin films in diverse systems of fundamental and technological significance. The book covers most of the original and important conceptual developments made in the 1990s. The articles are arranged in five major categories - the theoretical basis, semiconductor-on-semiconductor growth, metal-on-metal growth, metal-on-semiconductor growth, and removal as the inverse process of growth. This book provides a critical assessment of the current status and the likely future directions of thin-film growth, an area of exceptional technological importance. Its emphasis is on descriptions of the atomic-scale mechanisms controlling the dynamics and thermodynamics of the morphological evolution of the growth front of thin films in diverse systems of fundamental and technological significance. The book covers most of the original and important conceptual developments made in the 1990s. The articles, written by leading experts, are arranged in five major categories — the theoretical basis, semiconductor-on-semiconductor growth, metal-on-metal growth, metal-on-semiconductor growth, and removal as the inverse process of growth. This book, the only one of its kind in this decade, will prove to be an indispensable reference source for active researchers, those having peripheral interest, and graduate students starting out in the field. Reviews the current status of thin-film growth. The text's emphasis is on descriptions of atomic-scale mechanisms controlling the dynamics and thermodynamics of the morphological evolution of the growth front of thin films in diverse systems of fundamental and technological significance. Metallic films are important in catalysis, magneto-optic storage media, and interconnects in microelectronics, and it is crucial to predict and control their morphologies.