New universality class for step bunching in the "C+ - C-" model

Abstract

We formulate a new (1+1)D step model of potentially unstable vicinal growth that we call "C+ - C-" model and study the step bunching process in it. The basic assumption is that the equilibrium adatom concentrations on both sides of the step are different and this may cause destabilization of the regular step train. We deduce equations of step motion and numerically integrate them to obtain the step positions on a discrete time set. New dynamic phenomena are observed during the bunching process: 1. parts of the crystal surface undergo temporary evaporation in the course of coalescence of two bunches, the larger being the one that "goes back", 2. the minimal interstep distance appears in the beginning rather than in the middle of the bunch. We speculate that the latter may serve as a diagnostic criterion for a new universality class constructed from the time- and size-scaling exponents describing the bunching process in the diffusion-limited regime.