Theoretical analysis of the growth mode for thin metallic films on oxide substrates
We show how the growth mode of a thin metallic film on an insulating substrate can be predicted theoretically by combining thermodynamic considerations with ab initio calculations for ordered metal/insulator interfaces at low coverage. Our approach is illustrated by calculations for Ag film deposited on an MgO substrate. Ab initio calculations predict high mobility of adsorbed Ag atoms on MgO, even at low temperatures, which greatly aids their aggregation.
Fuks
D
Materials Engineering Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel and and Fachbereich Physik, Osnabruck Universitat, Osnabruck, 49069, Germany.
Dorfman
S
Kotomin
EA
Zhukovskii
YF
Marshall Stoneham A