Smoothing surfaces by an ac field: an application of the Ratchet effect

C. S. Lee*, I. Derenyi, A. L. Barabäsi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

We demonstrate that for surfaces that have a nonzero Schwoebel barrier, the application of an ac field parallel to the surface will induce a net electromigration current. Most important, the direction of the net current will be always downhill; i.e. it will point in the step-down direction. The magnitude of this equilibrium current is calculated analytically, and compared with Monte Carlo simulations. A downhill current is known to smooth the surface, thus we suggest that the application of ac fields during annealing might aid the smoothing process and during growth it has the potential to slow or eliminate the Schwoebel barrier induced mound formation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)39-44
Number of pages6
JournalMaterials Research Society Symposium Proceedings
Volume570
DOIs
StatePublished - 1999
Externally publishedYes
EventProceedings of the 1999 MRS Spring Meeting - Symposium on 'Epitaxial Growth-Principles and Applications' - San Frnacisco, CA, USA
Duration: 5 Apr 19998 Apr 1999

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Smoothing surfaces by an ac field: an application of the Ratchet effect'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this