STM tip-mediated mass transport on Cu surfaces

Abstract

Atomic-scale simulations are performed to study atomic motion on Cu surfaces to illustrate the effect of the scanning tunneling microscopy tip on mass transport (MT) in the surfaces and on top of the Co island in heteroepitaxial Co/Cu(001) and Co/Cu(111) systems. First we investigate tip-induced atomic motion of Co atoms embedded in the Cu(001) surface at zero bias voltage. With the help of the tip, the Co atom in the surface can freely diffuse toward its nearby vacancy site. So-called vacancy mechanism is used to interpret this phenomenon. Then tip-mediated atomic motion of Co adatoms on the Co islands supported by a Cu(111) surface is studied. It is revealed that the tip has a significant effect on the diffusion of adatoms on the islands and interlayer mass transport at the island edge. Interlayer mass transport at the island edge is found to depend strongly on the tip height and the lateral distance from the tip. By calculating the diffusion barriers, it is found that the jumping diffusion barrier on the island can be zero by the tip vertical manipulation while the Ehrlich–Schwoebel diffusion barrier at the island edge can be reduced by the tip lateral manipulation. Thus, the quality of thin films can be improved by controlling MT in and/or on the surface.