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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Epitaxial thin films of intermetallic compounds

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Publisher Summary The potential of epitaxial thin films of intermetallic compounds in basic and applied research is emerging. Although the growth of semiconductor heterostructures and compounds based on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and related methods has come through a 30-year history of ongoing refinement and sophistication, still much has to be learned concerning the growth and characterization of even moderately complex metallic thin film structures. MBE represents a well-defined crystallization technique based on the reactions among molecular or atomic beams of the constituent elements on a substrate or template at elevated temperatures in an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) environment. Owing to the UHV environment, various surface-sensitive-characterization techniques, such as electron diffraction in grazing and normal incidence, can be used to monitor and/or control the growth process. In the Helmholtz free energy of an alloy, it is the entropy of mixing that favors the formation of mixed alloys. Many aspects of modem MBE systems for metals epitaxy are analogous to the technology used in semiconductor growth.