Atomistic calculations on low-temperature layer-by-layer growth

We have studied deposition-induced mobility of atoms on surfaces by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In these simulations, Cu and In atoms were deposited with thermal energies on flat and adatom-cluster covered Cu(100) surfaces at a temperature of 100 K. It was found that in some cases the latent heat of condensation is used by the deposited atom to make a jump to a neighbouring site. Atoms deposited on small adatom clusters were in some cases observed to jump off the cluster. The results of the MD simulations were used in a discussion of low-temperature layer-by-layer growth of Cu on Cu(100), as was recently observed experimentally.