Sputter ripples and radiation-enhanced surface kinetics on Cu(001)

Abstract

We have measured the temperature and flux dependence of the wavelength of surface ripples spontaneously formed by low-energy sputtering of a Cu(001) surface. We find that the temperature dependence of the ripple wavelength is non-Arrhenius, with a greater apparent activation at high temperature than at low temperature. Furthermore, the dependence of the wavelength on flux changes significantly with temperature. In the high-temperature regime, the wavelength decreases as the ion flux increases, while at low temperature, the wavelength is essentially independent of flux. We explain these results by a quantitative model that includes the mechanisms controlling the concentration of mobile defects on the surface in the two temperature regimes. At low temperature, mobile defects are induced by the ion beam while at higher temperature, the defects are thermally generated.