Growth morphology of (1x2) alpha-Sn(100): a surface diffraction study

Epitaxial growth of of alpha-Sn on the InSb(1 0 0) surface terminates with a alpha-Sn(1 0 0)(1 x 2) reconstructed surface phase. It has been Studied by means of grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, following the intensity of the diffraction peaks and the crystal truncation rod evolution. The growth morphology of alpha-Sn(1 0 0) is strongly dependent on the substrate temperature: at 320 K a layer-by-layer epitaxial growth with a low step density is observed. Moreover, the alpha-Sn(1 0 0) surface presents a two-domain (1 x 2) reconstruction with a low coherence length (30-40 Angstrom), as deduced front the angular width of the diffraction peaks.