Publications Details
Non-Classical Smoothening of Nano-Scale Surface Corrugations
We report the first experimental observation of non-classical morphological equilibration of a corrugated crystalline surface. Periodic rippled structures with wavelengths of 290-550 nm were made on Si(OO1) by sputter rippling and then annealed at 650 - 750 °C. In contrast to the classical exponential decay with time, the ripple amplitude, A{lambda}(t), followed an inverse linear decay, A{lambda}(t)= A{lambda}(0)/(1 +k{lambda}t), agreeing with a prediction of Ozdemir and Zangwill. We measure the activation energy for surface relaxation to be 1.6±0.2 eV, consistent with an interpretation that dimers mediate transport.