The atomic processes which were involved in crystal growth and surface diffusion could be modelled by using coupled rate and diffusion equations. A comparison of these models, with microscopic experiments on the effect of deposition temperature and of annealing time at a given temperature, could be used to measure effective diffusion coefficients. From these, activation energies for adsorption, diffusion and binding processes could be extracted. These energies could, in favorable cases, be compared with theory; thus leading to new insights into interatomic forces at surfaces.

J.A.Venables, R.Persaud, F.L.Metcalfe, R.H.Milne, M.Azim: Journal of the Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 1994, 55[10], 955-64