The nucleation of adatom islands on face-centered cubic (111) surfaces was studied by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. The temperature dependence of the island density obeyed an Arrhenius behavior with characteristic energy ED/3 (where ED denoted the diffusion energy on terraces), in agreement with classical nucleation theory for the critical nucleus size of one. The diffuse scattering of the diffraction spots in the sub-monolayer range showed ring-like structures which were attributed to the characteristic island distance, since the ring radius followed an Arrhenius behavior with characteristic energy ED/6. This energy did not depend on coverage for the sub-monolayer range investigated (Θ ≤ 0.5ML), which implies that the diffusion energy could also be obtained from higher coverages where coalescence of islands had already started.

Determination of Diffusion Energies on Face-Centred Cubic (111) Surfaces from Diffraction Experiments: a Monte Carlo Study. J.Wollschläger, T.Schmidt, M.Henzler, M.I.Larsson: Surface Science, 2000, 454[1], 566-70