epitaxial growth of thin films on solid substrates is of great interest because it allows for the creation of materials with morphologies and chemical compositions which are not found in nature. the size o f electronic devices is continually being decreased to minimize space requirements. surface related phenomena become more important in the design of these devices as the surface to volume ratio continues to increase. metal surfaces are very important to the development of heterogeneous catalysis. often very expensive metals are used. since catalysis is purely a surface phenomenon the cost can be greatly reduced by growing thin clusters of this expensive metal onto the surface of a more inexpensive one. metal on metal film s are also used for data storage. large resistive changes in a magnetic field for certain devices composed of alternating thin layers o f metals are being used to create the next generation of disk drives. a greater understanding o f the properties o f surfaces is crucial to the development of these areas.