Surface Self-Diffusion by Vacancy Motion: Island Ripening on Cu(001)

Journal Article · Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1997 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.79.2506· OSTI ID:542687

Hannon, J B; Kluenker, C; Giesen, M; Ibach, H ^[1]; Bartelt, N C; Hamilton, J C ^[2]

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1. Institut fuer Grenzflaechenforschung und Vakuumphysik, Forschungszentrum Juelich, D-52425, Juelich (Germany)
2. Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94551 (United States)

We have used scanning tunneling microscopy to study the Ostwald ripening of 2D islands of Cu grown on Cu(001). By considering the time dependence of the sizes of individual islands we have characterized the mechanisms for the ripening. Our result is unexpected for a simple metal surface: The flow of atoms from one island to another is limited by attachment-detachment kinetics at the island edges. To explain this result, we propose that the transport of atoms between islands occurs by vacancy, rather than by adatom, diffusion. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

• OSTI ID: 542687
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 79, Issue 13; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1997
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
COPPER
DIFFUSION
VACANCIES
ADSORPTION
CRYSTAL GROWTH
CRYSTALS
SURFACES
IMAGES
TIME DEPENDENCE