Diffusion mechanisms taking place eat the early stages of cobalt deposition on Au(111)

O. A. OVIEDO; LEIVA, EPM; M. M. MARISCAL

IOP Publishing

Lugar: London; Año: 2008 vol. 20 p. 265010 - 265010

font face="Times-Roman" size="2"> In the present work a detailed atomic-level analysis of some of the main diffusion mechanisms which take place during cobalt adatom deposition are studied within atom dynamics (AD) and the nudged elastic band (NEB) method. Our computer simulations reveal a very fast exchange between Co and Au atoms when the deposit is a single cobalt adatom. However, when the nucleus size increases, a decrease in the exchange probability is observed. Activation energies for different transitions are obtained using AD in combination with the NEB method.