The thermally activated motion of atoms on the steps of a (100) surface was studied by using molecular dynamics simulations and standard 3-body potentials. At temperatures of 100 to 450K, the motion had 2 characteristics. Firstly, a power-law growth rate led to displacements of 0.1nm in some tens of ps. Secondly, there was a marked dependence upon the step morphology.

A Molecular Dynamics Study of Atom Mobility on Steps of a Si(100) Surface A.M.Mazzone: Philosophical Magazine Letters, 2000, 80[5], 317-23