Can Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulation Help Experimentalists to Build Self-Organized Nanowires?

Abstract

We present a critical discussion about the use of Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations for describing accurately the growth of metal atom nanowires and nanogratings on metallic vicinal surfaces. Aside from the external parameters (temperature, deposition flux, coverage and terrace width) defining the optimum conditions for the formation of low dimension periodic nanostructures, the predictive character of such simulations depends on the diffusion model via the interactions between the adatoms and the surface and between the adatoms themselves. The adequacy and failure of the method are commented using Ag/Pt surface as typical system.