AVS 47th International Symposium
    Surface Science Monday Sessions
       Session SS3-MoA

Invited Paper SS3-MoA4
Low Energy Electron Microscope Investigations of Pb Film Growth on Cu Surfaces

Monday, October 2, 2000, 3:00 pm, Room 210

Session: Surface Diffusion and Wetting
Presenter: G.L. Kellogg, Sandia National Laboratories
Authors: G.L. Kellogg, Sandia National Laboratories
R. Plass, Sandia National Laboratories
Correspondent: Click to Email
To develop a more fundamental understanding of the microscopic processes that control the dynamics of liquid-metal wetting and spreading, we are using low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) to investigate the properties of Pb overlayers on Cu surfaces. The experiments probe a wide range of surface processes -- from the dynamic properties of submonolayer films to the growth, ripening and melting of three-dimensional islands. Measurements of changes in morphology during surface alloying and de-alloying provide new insights into the nature of submonolayer Pb structures on Cu(100). By combining different imaging modes of the LEEM, we have discovered an interesting correlation between the shape of three-dimensional Pb islands and the domain structure of the Pb/Cu(100) overlayer upon which they grow. Direct observations of Ostwald ripening combined with modeling studies indicate that mass transfer between three-dimensional islands is inhibited at domain boundaries of the submonolayer structure. The implication o f these and other results as they relate to liquid-metal flow processes will be discussed. Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the U. S. DOE under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.