Direct evidence for In-crystallite growth on sputter-induced InP cones

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy proved that the cone evolution on Ar⁺-sputtered InP(100) entails the growth of In crystallites on the cone surface, obviously due to a preferential loss of P atoms. The In crystallites grew on the cone shank, as well as the cone tip, in a definite orientation formulated as InP(011) ∥ In(010) with InP001] ∥ In101̄]. The cones themselves were solely composed of InP, but involved the polycrystalline phase surrounding the original monocrystalline phase. Such a structural duality of InP cones may indicate that the target surface was in a quasi-liquid state during sputtering.