Monte Carlo Study of Dense Monolayer and Bilayer Films on the (100) Plane of Face-Centered Cubic Crystals

A Monte Carlo simulation method in the canonical and in the grand canonical ensembles is used to study the behavior and properties of dense monolayer and bilayer films formed on the (100) plane of model face-centered cubic crystals. Systems with different effects due to the periodicity of the gas−solid potential are considered, and the mechanism of melting in the first and the second adsorbed layer is discussed. It is demonstrated that the film structure is very sensitive to the gas−solid potential corrugation, as well as to the temperature and the surface coverage. In particular, it is shown that monolayer films formed on weakly corrugated surfaces exhibit the incommensurate (dense) phase …