Narrowing of Terrace-width Distributions During Growth on Vicinals

Using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations for a generic minimal SOS model of vicinal surfaces, we compute the terrace-width distributions (TWDs) as a function of incident flux during homoepitaxial growth. We show that the distribution narrows markedly,\footnote{ Ajmi BH. Hamouda, Ph.D. thesis, U.B.P.–Clermont 2} as though there were a flux-dependent repulsion between steps, until the step picture fails at high flux. Using a Fokker-Planck approach\footnote{A.\ BH.\ Hamouda, A. Pimpinelli, \& TLE, Surface Sci. 602 (2008) 3569 }, we analyze the evolution and saturation of this narrowing. We compare with a 1D model\footnote{H.-J. Gossman et al., J. Appl. Phys. 67 (1990) 745} and with our simulations for narrowing due to an Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier.