title: Growth and erosion of thin solid films.
abstract: Thin films that are grown by the process of sputtering are, by and large, quite unlike the smooth, featureless structures that one might expect. In general, these films have a complicated surface morphology and an extended network of grooves and voids in their interiors. Such features can have a profound effect on the physical properties of a thin film. The surface irregularities and the bulk defects are the result of a growth instability due to competitive shadowing, an effect that also plays a role in geological processes such as erosion. For amorphous thin films, the shadow instability can be described by a remarkably simple model, which can be shown to reproduce many important observed characteristics of thin film morphology.
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Bales
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruinsma
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Eklund
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Karunasiri
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rudnick
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zangwill