Epitaxial film growth on quasiperiodic surfaces

We performed depositions of noble metals, such as Pt and Ag, onto quasicrystalline surfaces in order to investigate the nature of film growth on quasiperiodic surfaces. Pt depositions onto the ten-fold quasiperiodic surface of decagonal Al-Ni-Co quasicrystal yielded an epitaxial layer of multiply twinned PtAl₂ crystals with the aid of predeposited In, which acted as a surfactant. This is quite similar to the case of Au depositions on the ten-fold surface, where an epitaxial layer of multiply twinned AuAl₂ crystals was formed. In the case of Ag deposition, no epitaxial films were formed by similar procedures even under the existence of an In layer.