Scaling properties of the shadowing model for sputter deposition

We analyze a deterministic, one-dimensional solid-on-solid model for sputter deposition where the local growth rate is a function V) of the exposure angle. For long times an algebraic height distribution N(h)h-(1+p) develops, where the exponent p depends on the behavior of V) close to and the extremal statistics of the substrate roughness. Analytic predictions for p, based on scaling arguments, are verified by large-scale simulations using a hierarchical algorithm. © 1993 The American Physical Society.