Impact of adsorbate-substrate interaction on nanostructured thin films growth during low-pressure condensation.

Abstract

We discuss effects of elastic adsorbate-substrate interactions in processes of nanostructuring of thin films during low-pressure condensation in the framework of theoretical approaches and numerical simulations. It will be shown that an increase in the elastic interaction strength induces first-order transitions and pattern formation. We simulate deposition on one- and multicomponent substrates with different strengths of adsorbate-substrate interactions. We will show that an increase in the strength of adsorbate-substrate interactions stimulates the formation of stable surface structures during deposition, which leads to an increase in its coverage and the formation of a smaller number of adsorbate islands of larger size. At elevated adsorption rates, an increase in adsorbate-substrate interactions results in the transformation of the surface morphology and the formation of percolating adsorbate structures. Deposition onto multicomponent substrates leads to the formation of a stationary surface morphology with an elevated number of adsorbate islands of smaller size, compared to one-component substrates. This study provides a deep insight into the peculiarities of nanostructured thin films' growth in low-pressure systems with different adsorbate-substrate bonding.