Abstract
We have investigated the growth of Ag(001) in the
multilayer regime by high-resolution electron diffraction
(SPA-LEED). Ag deposition at temperatures above 180 K
results in the growth of approximately square mounds with a
predominant ⟨1
0⟩ step termination which is
thermodynamically favored. Surprisingly, when the deposition
temperature is reduced below 130 K, instead of observing a
random roughening of the step profile, as expected in a
self-affine growth regime, the proliferation of ⟨001⟩ oriented facets is observed. We attribute our
observation to the de-activation of corner crossing, as well as
to the presence of easy pathways for interlayer diffusion down
the {111} facets which are formed at ⟨10⟩ steps.
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