Spectroscopic light-scattering was used to monitor periodic ripple evolution in situ on (001) surfaces during Ar+ sputtering. Analysis indicated that, under high fluxes, the concentration of mobile species on the surface was independent of temperature and ion flux. This was due to an effect of ion collision cascades upon the concentration of mobile species. The migration energy on the surface was deduced to be 1.2eV. The technique could be generalized to any material.

Spontaneous pattern formation on ion-bombarded Si(001) J.Erlebacher, M.J.Aziz, E.Chason, M.B.Sinclair, J.A.Floro: Physical Review Letters, 1999, 82[11], 2330-3