Physics:Frank-van der Merwe growth

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Frank-van-der-Merwe mode

Frank–van der Merwe growth (FM growth) is one of the three primary modes by which thin films grow epitaxially at a crystal surface or interface. It is also knows as 'layer-by-layer growth'. It is considered an ideal growth model, requiring perfect lattice matching between the substrate and the layer growing on to it, and it is usually limited to homoepitaxy.[1] For FM growth to occur, the atoms that are to be deposited should be more attracted to the substrate than to each other, this in contrast to the layer-plus-island growth model[2] The FM growth is the preferred growth model for producing smooth films.[3]

It was first described by South African physicist Jan van der Merwe and British physicist Frederick Charles Frank in a series of four papers based on Van der Merwe's PhD research between 1947 and 1949.[4]


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