It was recalled that interlayer diffusion controlled the transfer of atoms between layers in a film and was the main factor which determined whether growth was layer-by-layer or 2-dimensional. An analysis of experimental data on Ag/Ag(111), for 2 sets of temperatures, revealed similar values of the step edge barrier, ΔEs, but not of the ratio of the pre-factors, νs/νt, where νt was the pre-factor for diffusion on a terrace and νs was the pre-factor at a step-edge site. A pre-factor ratio larger than unity was deduced from measurements performed below 150K, while a ratio of about unity was found for experiments performed at about 300K. Since the conclusion that νs/νt ~ 1 was based upon a steady-state analysis of island decay, it was considered whether this condition was fulfilled for Ag/Ag(111). It was shown that the low value (about 0.1eV) of the terrace diffusion barrier on Ag(111) offered an alternative interpretation of the steady-state analysis: an independent detachment model. Re-analysis of the data in terms of the latter model also resulted in νs/νt > 1; in good agreement with low-temperature experiments.

Prefactors for Interlayer Diffusion on Ag/Ag(111). Z.Chvoj, C.Ghosh, T.S.Rahman, M.C.Tringides: Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter, 2003, 15[30], 5223-30