Decay characteristics of surface mounds with contrasting interlayer mass transport channels.
The decay characteristics of three-dimensional (3D) islands formed on surfaces are investigated theoretically considering two types of interlayer mass transport mechanisms. If an adatom on a given layer can easily descend from any site along the periphery of the layer, an optimal island slope and a constant terrace width will be selected during the decay. In contrast, if the adatom can descend primarily through selective (such as kinked) sites, the decay will be accompanied by a gradual increase in the island slope. These generic conclusions provide the basis for a microscopic understanding of the decay of nanostructures in fcc(111) and fcc(100) metal homoepitaxy and are applicable to other systems as well.
Li
M
M
Institute of Physics & Center of Condensed Matter Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Wendelken
J F
JF
Liu
B G
BG
Wang
E G
EG
Zhang
Z
Z