An Investigation of Adsorption-Induced Smoothing Mechanisms in Pt/Pt(111) Homoepitaxy

Abstract

We report the results of a molecular dynamics study of the deposition of Pt atoms on a Pt(111) surface. The interatomic potential in our study is generated from Corrected Effective Medium theory. The transient mobility, the interaction between an atom and a ascending step edge, and the incorporation of an atom into a descending step edge have been investigated. No significant transient mobility is observed. Adatoms exchange with atoms at the descending step edges rather than jumping over the edges, and the exchange can involve two or more atoms. Our simulations indicate that the exchange is assisted by instantaneous momentum transfer between the impinging atom and the island atoms.