title: Roughening rates of strained-layer instabilities.
abstract: We study the evolution of the morphology of Si0.75Ge0.25 strained layers using a wide range of deposition times, 60<tau<2400 s, at 600 degrees C on laser textured substrates with miscuts theta<15 degrees off Si(001). Ripple-shaped morphologies form spontaneously on miscuts along the 110 directions. At the shortest deposition times, roughening is suppressed as predicted by a linear stability analysis that uses previously measured values for the mass transport rate on the surface. The measured time constant of the roughening is approximately 80 s, a factor of 4 larger than predicted by theory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Fumiya
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Cahill
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Greene