Mechanism of Interlayer Transport on a Growing Au(111) Surface: 2D vs. 3D Growth

The atomic scale transitions corresponding to diffusion and interlayer transport of a Au adatom on the low energy, close packed Au(111) surface are studied using density functional theory calculations within the generalized gradient approximation. Minimum energy paths and estimates of activation energy are calculated for processes that influence whether the crystal grows layer-by-layer, i.e. 2D growth, or whether new islands tend to nucleate on top of existing islands resulting in 3D growth. Kinks on island edges turn out to provide paths for adatom descent with lower activation energy than straight steps. The energy barrier for an adatom to round the corner and enter a kink site is significantly higher. A descent mechanism that places an adatom near but not at a kink site can therefore promote the formation of a new row of step atoms and lead to the introduction of additional kink sites, thereby opening up new low activation energy paths for descent and promotion of 2D growth. The sites adjacent and above the step edge provide large binding energy for the adatom, especially at the B-type step, and form a trough along which the adatom can migrate before descending, thereby increasing the probability that an adatom finds a kink on the B-type step. These features of the energy landscape representing the interaction of a Au adatom with the surface point to the possibility of a re-entrant layer-by-layer growth mode of the low energy, close packed surface of the gold crystal.

Automated summary

This study uses density functional theory calculations to investigate the atomic scale transitions corresponding to diffusion and interlayer transport of a Au adatom on the low energy, close packed Au(111) surface. The results suggest that kinks on island edges provide paths for adatom descent and a descent mechanism near kink sites can promote the formation of new rows of step atoms, opening up new low activation energy paths for 2D growth.