Ratchet Effect in Surface Electromigration: Smoothing Surfaces by an ac Field
- 16 February 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 80 (7) , 1473-1476
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.80.1473
Abstract
We demonstrate that for surfaces that have a nonzero Schwoebel barrier the application of an ac field parallel to the surface induces a net electromigration current that points in the descending step direction. The magnitude of the current is calculated analytically and compared with Monte Carlo simulations. Since a downhill current smoothes the surface, our results imply that the application of ac fields can aid the smoothing process during annealing and can slow or eliminate the Schwoebel-barrier-induced mound formation during growth.Keywords
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