The effect of Bi upon the homo-epitaxial growth of Fe(100) was investigated by means of reflection high-energy electron diffraction. It was clearly found that Bi induced layer-by-layer growth of Fe on the Fe(100)-c(2 x 2)O reconstruction surface. The result of the dependence of the growth behaviour as a function of Bi layer thickness suggests that there exist optimum amount of Bi surfactant layer that induced smoother layer-by-layer growth. The surface segregation effect of Bi was studied by Auger electron spectroscopy. A strong surface segregation of Bi was found at the top of surface and Bi atoms acted as a surfactant by promoting the interlayer transport.

Bi Induced Layer-by-Layer Growth in the Homoepitaxial Growth of Fe on Fe (100)-c(2 x 2)O Reconstruction Surface. M.Kamiko, H.Mizuno, J.H.Xu, I.Kojima, R.Yamamoto: Journal of Crystal Growth, 2004, 263[1-4], 363-71