Although there has been steady progress in understanding aspects of epitaxial growth throughout the last 30 years of modern surface science, work in this area has intensified greatly in the last 5 years. A number of factors have contributed to this expansion. One has been the general trend in surface science to tackle problems of increasing complexity as confidence is gained in the methodology, so for example, the role of oxide/metal interfaces in determining the properties of many practical supported catalysts is now being explored in greater detail. A second factor is the recognition of the potential importance of artificial multilayer materials not only in semiconductor devices but also in metal/metal systems because of their novel magnetic properties. Perhaps even more important than either of these application areas, however, is the newly-discovered power of scanning probe microscopies, and most notably scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), to provide the means to study epitaxial growth phenomena on an atomic scale under a wide range of conditions. These techniques have also contributed to revitalised interest in methods of fabricating and exploiting artificial structures (lateral as well as in layers) on a nanometre scale. This volume, on Growth and Properties of Ultrathin Epitaxial Layers, includes a collection of articles which reflects the present state of activity in this field. The emphasis is on metals and oxides rather than semiconductors.

Offers a comprehensive, modern introduction to the subject, taking a truly pedagogical approach. This text will provide the reader with a well-rounded understanding, not only of how chemistry works at surfaces, but also how to understand and probe the dynamics of surface reactions.

This book provides a critical assessment of the current status and the likely future directions of thin-film growth, an area of exceptional technological importance. Its emphasis is on descriptions of the atomic-scale mechanisms controlling the dynamics and thermodynamics of the morphological evolution of the growth front of thin films in diverse systems of fundamental and technological significance. The book covers most of the original and important conceptual developments made in the 1990s. The articles, written by leading experts, are arranged in five major categories — the theoretical basis, semiconductor-on-semiconductor growth, metal-on-metal growth, metal-on-semiconductor growth, and removal as the inverse process of growth. This book, the only one of its kind in this decade, will prove to be an indispensable reference source for active researchers, those having peripheral interest, and graduate students starting out in the field.

Heteroepitaxial films are commonplace among today's electronic and photonic devices. The realization of new and better devices relies on the refinement of epitaxial techniques and improved understanding of the physics underlying epitaxial growth. This book provides an up-to-date report on a wide range of materials systems. The first half reviews metallic and dielectric thin films, including chapters on metals, rare earths, metal-oxide layers, fluorides, and high-Tc superconductors. The second half covers semiconductor systems, reviewing developments in group-IV, arsenide, phosphide, antimonide, nitride, II-VI and IV-VI heteroepitaxy. Topics important to several systems are covered in chapters on atomic processes, ordering and growth dynamics.

In a uniform and comprehensive manner the authors describe all the important aspects of the epitaxial growth processes of solid films on crystalline substrates, e.g. processes in which atoms of the growing film mimic the arrangement of the atoms of the substrate. Emphasis is put on sufficiently fundamental and unequivocal presentation of the subject in the form of an easy-to-read review. A large part of this book focuses on the problems of heteroepitaxy. The most important epitaxial growth techniques which are currently widely used in basic research as well as in manufacturing processes of devices are presented and discussed in detail.