THEORY, SIMULATION AND NANOTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS OF ADSORPTION ON A SURFACE WITH DEFECTS

A theory of adsorption on a surface with nanolocal defects is proposed . Two efficacy parameters of surface modification for nanotechnologica l purposes are introduced, where the modification is a creation of nan olocal artificial defects. The first parameter corresponds to applicat ions where it is necessary to increase the concentration of certain pa rticles on the modified surface. The second corresponds to the pattern transfer with the help of particle self-organization on the modified surface. The analytical expressions for both parameters are derived wi th the help of the thermodynamic and the kinetic approaches for two ca ses: jump diffusion and free motion of adsorbed particles over the sur face. The process of particle adsorption from the surface into the pit is studied theoretically by molecular dynamic technique. Some possibl e nanotechnological applications of adsorption on the surface with art ificial defects are considered: fabrication of sensors for trace molec ule detection, separation of isomers, and pattern transfer. (C) 1998 E lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.