Influence of surfactants on atomic diffusion

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We have used Monte Carlo simulations with realistic interatomic potentials, combined with experimental results obtained by He diffraction (thermal energy atom scattering) and STM to investigate the effect of a surfactant agent such as Pb on the mechanisms of atomic diffusion involved in epitaxial metal growth. We find that the main role of the surfactant is to hinder fast diffusion by hopping over the surface, which is the dominant mechanism on a compact face such as Cu(111), and to promote exchange. As a side effect, this facilitates interlayer diffusion and hence layer-by-layer growth, because islands are smaller and have rougher borders; adatoms reaching an edge have more opportunities to cross them by exchange with a step atom.