Abstract
The low-energy structures (LESs) of adatom clusters on a series of metal face-centered cubic (fcc) (110) surfaces are systematically studied by the genetic algorithm, and a simplified model based on the atomic interactions is developed to explain the LESs. Two different kinds of LES group mainly caused by the different next nearest-neighbor (NNN) adatom-adatom interaction are distinguished, although the NNN atomic interaction is much weaker than the nearest-neighbor interaction. For a repulsive NNN atomic interaction, only the linear chain is included in the LES group. However, for an attractive one, type of structure in the LES group is various and replace gradually one by one with cluster size increasing. Based on our model, we also predict the shape feature of the large cluster which is found to be related closely to the ratio of NN and NNN bond energies, and discuss the surface reconstruction in the view of atomic interaction. The results are in accordance with the experimental observations.PACS: 68.43.Hn; 68.43.Fg.
Highlights
In the next-generation microelectronics and ultra-highdensity recording, the fully monodispersed nanostructures are believed to be one of the most promising materials [1]
Under the definition of LES above, we see that the low-energy structures obtained by our genetic algorithm are all two-dimensional on the surfaces studied here, i.e., three-dimensional structures are excluded from the LES group for their higher energy
The results are similar to those of cluster n = 15 on Ni(110), Ag(110), Cu(110), and Pt(110), i.e., the structure types of LES on Ni(110), Ag(110), and Cu(110) surfaces are various and change with the cluster size, while on Pt (110) surface, only one type of structure is included in LES group
Summary
In the next-generation microelectronics and ultra-highdensity recording, the fully monodispersed nanostructures are believed to be one of the most promising materials [1]. Numerous experimental observations and theoretical investigations into structures of clusters have been reported on transition and noble fcc metal surfaces, e.g., fcc(111), fcc(100), and fcc(110) surfaces [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. Such studies mainly focus on the lowest-energy structures. Structures are optimized according to their energy by the genetic algorithm (GA), which has been described in detail in our previous publications [7,8]
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