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surfaces and interfaces; crystal growth; kinetic properties
Abstract:
The results of kinetic MC simulations of the reversible pattern
formation during the adsorption of mobile metal atoms on
crystalline substrates are discussed. Pattern formation,
simulated for submonolayer metal coverage, is characterized in
terms of the joint correlation functions for a spatial
distribution of adsorbed atoms. A wide range of situations,
from the almost irreversible to strongly reversible regimes, is
simulated. We demonstrate that the patterns obtained are
defined by a key dimensionless parameter: the ratio of the
mutual attraction energy between atoms to the substrate
temperature. Our ab initio calculations for the nearest Ag-Ag
adsorbate atom interaction on an MgO substrate give an
attraction energy as large as 1.6 eV, close to that in a free
molecule. This is in contrast to the small Ag adhesion and
migration energies (0.23 and 0.05 eV, respectively) on a
defect-free MgO substrate. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All
rights reserved.
