A study was made of the coverage dependence of the self-diffusion on the Cu(111) surface using molecular dynamics simulations. The adatoms coalesce to a large island whose migration energy increased with coverage, attaining 0.37eV above a concentration of 25%. The migration rate of the island's atoms scales with their number as N-1, while step atoms were fast diffusing independent of the cluster size. Detailed trajectory analysis revealed that cluster diffusion occurred via `step running' of the peripheral atoms that initiate concerted movements of the inner cluster atoms. In addition, adatoms and vacancies were spontaneously created and annihilated on the island's terrace, contributing to the migration of the island. These findings described the most important processes of cluster diffusion involved in the early stages of growth on this surface.

Coverage Dependent Self-Diffusion on Cu(111) by Molecular Dynamics. Evangelakis, G.A., Vamvakopoulos, E., Pantelios, D., Papanicolaou, N.I.: Surface Science, 1999, 425[1], L393-9