6533b860fe1ef96bd12c2eec

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Atomistic Theory of the Growth Mode for a Thin Metallic Film on an Isulating Substrate

Simon DorfmanYu. F. ZhukovskiiDavid FuksEugene A. KotominEugene A. Kotomin

subject

Materials scienceSpinodal decompositionAb initioInsulator (electricity)Electronic structureMetalCondensed Matter::Materials ScienceAdsorptionChemical physicsSilver depositionvisual_artPhysics::Atomic and Molecular Clustersvisual_art.visual_art_mediumCondensed Matter::Strongly Correlated Electrons

description

We have developed a novel theory for predicting the growth mode of a thin metallic film on an insulating substrate. Our theory combines ab initio electronic structure calculations for several ordered metal/insulator interfaces with varying metal coverage, with a thermodynamic method known in the theory of alloys. We illustrate this approach for an Ag film deposited on a MgO(001) substrate. Ab initio Hartree-Fock calculations predict a high mobility of adsorbed silver atoms on the perfect magnesia surface even at low temperatures. Our theoretical analysis clearly demonstrates that the growth of metal islands is predominant at the initial stage of silver deposition on MgO, which agrees with the experimental data.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2002-01-01
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0391-9_41