Growth of silver films on Cu(111) at low temperatures

The growth behavior of silver films on the Cu(111) face during the initial stage of silver deposition (i.e. for theta < 3 ML) and thermal stability of the films were studied by means of AES and LEED. Silver layers were deposited at substrate temperature ranging from 8 5 to 200 K in UHV. It was found that only during the early stage of silver deposition at 200 K the 2D growth takes place. With increasing surface coverage, a gradual transition from 2D to 3D growth was observed. A reduction of the deposition temperature from 200 to 100 K yields a transition to a smoother (flatter) growth of Ag on Cu(111). The LEED observations suggest a disordered growth of Ag on Cu(111) at 100K. The thermal stability of silver films during annealing up to about 850 K was studied. The surface morphology of about 2.5 ML Ag film grown at 100 K is not stable during annealing. On heating (above 700 K), a rearrangement to an ordered Ag(111) structure takes place within the silver layer. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.