Abstract
Nucleation has been studied on atomic scale for Ag deposition on a Pt(111) surface at low temperature (50-120 K) by means of variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. From island density versus coverage data, the transition from the initial steps of nucleation to growth and coalescence has been studied as a function of temperature. The data show that dimers are stable nuclei for K, which facilitates quantitative comparison with rate equations from nucleation theory. The migration barrier meV is determined for Ag adatoms on Pt(111) and compared with theoretical values.
- Received 23 February 1994
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.73.1955
©1994 American Physical Society