title: In situ real-time observation of thin film deposition: roughening, zeno effect, grain boundary crossing barrier, and steering.
abstract: We report on the first atomic-scale real-time in situ investigation of the growth of a polycrystalline gold film during its deposition performed with a scanning tunneling microscope. Continuously scanning while depositing the film enables the direct observation of atomic processes. The grain boundaries play a crucial role in the evolving film structure, as they initiate mound formation, thereby significantly increasing the film roughness. A possible additional roughness increase comes from atom steering, which also can delay the film closure in the early stages during film growth.
authors.affiliation: Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9504, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rost