Gravimetric study of growth kinetics of bismuth thin films grown by vapour deposition

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Abstract
By the use of a silica torsion balance of a sensitivity of 1.37 × 10−7 g/mm, a gravimetric study has been made of the growth kinetics of bismuth films of mean thickness about one monolayer. The films have been grown by vapour deposition on to mica substrate with a known amount of surface contaminants. In particular, the sticking coefficient of an incident molecular beam has been determined against deposition time for various substrate temperatures. The electron micrographs of bismuth films of a known mass thickness have also been taken. An important feature of this experiment is that, on the basis of a capture rate theory, the relevant parameters such as surface diffusion distance of adatoms and difference between the energy of adsorption and that of surface diffusion have been derived, e.g. 115 Å and 7·8 kcal/mol for a substrate temperature of 175 °C. A kink found in the slope of lg (number density of bismuth adatoms) versus lg (deposition time) curve for substrate temperatures above 100°C has been discussed in connection with the phase transition of bismuth nuclei.

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