Atomic force microscopy is used to investigate the surface morphology of the prismatic (100) face of ZCTC crystal grown at 30°C at a supersaturation of 0.16. This surface is distinctly formed by periodic “macrosteps” that advance along different directions and join with each other leading to the interlaced growth layers with an inclination of about 137º. These two “macrostep” trains well correspond to the pyramidal faces of (01-1) and (0-1-1) in orientation, therefore they probably propagate from the edges of these faces. The “macrosteps” are practically formed by highly dense steps at the front with regular elementary steps in between. The alternation of “macrosteps” and elementary steps vividly reflects Chernov’s “kinematic waves of steps” theory (CHERNOV, (1984)) on a nanometer scale. Wide indentations and long clefts are generated at the “macrosteps”. The former is generated by two-dimensional nucleation growth at a relatively faster growth rate than that of the underlying layer. The latter is probably caused by step trains generated by individual growth sources that have not merged.

Keywords: interlaced macrostep trains, elementary steps, ZCTC crystal, AFM

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