Stranski-Krastanov Growth in a Binary Eutectic

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

0075834 Marks In this renewal project effort, research into the structural aspects, thermodynamics and kinetics of Stranski-Krastanov growth in a binary eutectic system is performed. One of the primary areas of interest is to understand how such a system behaves as the particle size decreases from large, where the bulk phase diagram is applicable, to small where terms such as the surface free energy may lead to depression of the eutectic temperature. Parallel with this research, work on 'Direct Methods' for determining surface structures is performed. The target here is to provide a general code that is freely available to solve, ab-initio, three-dimensional surface structures from transmission electron diffraction or surface x-ray diffraction data. A new area added to the program is charge-transfer at reconstructed surfaces which should in principle be detectable and quantifiable using transmission electron diffraction. Another area is a precession electron diffraction camera, which could become a very important tool in the future for determining structures using transmission electron diffraction. %%% As dimensions continue to decrease in electronic devices, there is no reason why metallic materials should follow the traditional bulk property behavior. This research employs classic metallurgy, surface science, and small particle science to better understand the properties and behavior of thin metallic films. ***