Ion-induced pattern formation on Co surfaces: An x-ray scattering and kinetic Monte Carlo study

We report time-resolved grazing incidence small-angle x-ray scattering and atomic force microscope studies of the evolution of the surface morphology of the Co(0001) surface during low-energy Ar+ ion sputtering. At temperatures greater than 573 K, the surface is smooth, erosion proceeding in either a layer-by-layer mode or a step retraction mode. In contrast, at temperatures below 573 K, the surface develops a correlated pattern of mounds and/or pits with a characteristic length scale, λ. At room temperature, the surface morphology is dominated by mounds, and coarsens as time progresses. The characteristic length scale obeys the apparent power law, λ=Axtn with n=0.20±0.02. The rms roughness of the surface increases in time according to a similar power law with a slightly larger exponent β=0.28±0.02. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of a simple model of Cu(111) were also performed. These simulations suggest that mound formation and coarsening at low temperatures is due to the slow diffusion of sputter-created adatoms on step edges. The morphological transition from mounds to pits is associated with activation of kink diffusion. These simple simulations produce values for the scaling exponents that agree with the experimental measurements