The topography of Ag grown on Ag(111) measured with scanning tunneling microscopy reveals three-dimensional, layered islands for film thicknesses below 500 Å. For thicker Ag films, the layered structures can no longer be observed. The induced surface roughness increases with increasing film thickness and corresponds to the formation of self-similar surfaces with roughness exponents H close to 1 for thicknesses up to 5000 Å. Our results are compared to the relevant theoretical models. © 1996 The American Physical Society.

• Received 4 January 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.54.349