Ty. Fu et al., SELF-DIFFUSION AND DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF ATOMS AT STEP EDGES OF IRIDIUMSURFACES, Physical review. B, Condensed matter, 54(8), 1996, pp. 5932-5939
Steps are an integral part of a surface. Many surface phenomena are to
a very large extent affected or determined by the existence of lattic
e steps. We report a study of the dynamic behavior of atoms at step ed
ges and on stepped surfaces of iridium. Diffusion of edge atoms along
steps of different atomic structures, detachment or dissociation of st
ep-edge atoms, descending and ascending motions of atoms at step edges
, the upward movement of in-layer atoms, and the stable structure of n
anometer-size islands have been investigated, and the activation barri
er heights of various atomic processes at lattice steps have been deri
ved. We have also derived parameters of adatom diffusion on the terrac
e of the Ir(113) and (331) surfaces to compare with those of ledge-ato
m diffusion along step edges of the Ir(111). Possible implications of
the behavior of atoms at lattice steps in thin-film epitaxy are also d
iscussed.