Molecular dynamics simulations were used to investigate the diffusion of nanoclusters on non-ideal surfaces, containing bond-length disorder, vacancy islands or monoatomic steps. It was found that bond-length disorder did not significantly affect diffusion. When vacancy islands were present, it was found that the diffusion path avoided the neighborhood of these defects. This could be explained in terms of an effective repulsion between the defect and the cluster. When a step was present, a barrier was found which opposed diffusion. This was analogous to the Ehrlich–Schwoebel barrier to adatom diffusion.

Diffusion of Nanoclusters on Non-Ideal Surfaces. P.Jensen, A.Clément, L.J.Lewis: Physica E, 2004, 21[1], 71-6