Dynamics of interfaces in a model for molecular-beam epitaxy

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Abstract
The dynamics of driven interfaces in a continuum model of growth by molecular-beam epitaxy has been studied by means of the Nozières-Gallet dynamic renormalization group technique. Relaxation of the growing film is due to both surface tension and surface diffusion. In 1+1 dimensions, three growth regimes have been found. The first is a linearly stable state with a positive surface tension, which can be described by the Edwards-Wilkinson equation. The second is a purely diffusive state with a dynamic exponent z, different from that given by the Wolf-Villain linear theory. The last is a linearly unstable growth state in which the creation of large slopes in the interface configuration is expected. In 2+1 dimensions, which is the critical dimension of the model, the purely diffusive regime is absent at the one loop order. However, the other two growth regimes are still present. The scaling properties of the growth states are discussed in detail.