U.S.-Germany Cooperative Research: Growth and Morphology in a Model Thin Film System

该奖项支持帕特里夏泰尔教授，卢克博士 张和一名来自爱荷华州州立大学的研究生 在表面化学研究方面与 R教授J>rgen Behm和其他人的大学 乌尔姆，德国。 这两个团体都在积极进行研究 金属薄膜的生长和结构。 他们共同 选择来研究特定金属对 金属系统，以及这种形态的机制 实现了。 具体而言，他们将使用扫描 利用隧道显微镜（STM）来阐明 由铑/银（Rh/Ag（100））组成的系统。 这些金属是不混溶的，并且看起来不形成非磁性金属。 合金，但当它们结合在一起时， 通过形成Ag-Rh-Ag的多层夹层来表现。 这两个研究小组带来了互补的专业知识， 这项复杂的研究：美国小组提供专业知识， 在特定的金属系统和德国集团 提供实验设施， 有金属STM的经验。 固体材料的膜用于 从耐腐蚀涂层到磁性涂层， 记录设备。 一部电影的特点是 最重要的是确定其物理性质， 因此，其在给定应用中的性能是 形态学 这项合作中提出的研究 是为了了解 膜形态，特别是在复杂的情况下 当涉及材料的混合物时， 形成合金或三明治。

This award supports Professor Patricia Thiel, Dr. Luke Chang and a graduate student from Iowa State University to collaborate in surface chemistry research with Professor R. J>rgen Behm and others of the University of Ulm, Germany. Both groups are actively pursuing research on metal film growth and structure. Together, they have chosen to study the morphology of a particular metal-on- metal system, and the mechanisms by which that morphology is achieved. Specifically, they will use Scanning Tunneling microscopy (STM) to elucidate the morphology of a system composed of Rhodium on Silver (Rh on Ag(100)). These metals are immiscible and do not appear to form an alloy, but when combined they exhibit very unusual behavior by forming a multi-layer sandwich of Ag-Rh-Ag. The two research groups bring complementary expertise to this complex study: the U.S. group contributes expertise in the particular metal system and the German group offers experimental facilities and well-established experience with STM of metals. Films of solid materials are used in applications which range from corrosion-resistant coatings to magnetic recording devices. The characteristic of a film that is most important in determining its physical properties and thus its performance in a given application is its morphology. The research proposed in this collaboration is directed at understanding the factors which control film morphology, particularly in the complicated case where there is a mixture of materials involved which may form an alloy or a sandwich.