ATOMISTIC THEORY OF THE GROWTH MODE FOR A THIN METALLIC FILM ON AN ISULATING SUBSTRATE

摘要

We have developed a novel theory for predicting the growth mode of a thin metallic film on an insulating substrate. Our theory combines ab initio electronic structure calculations for several ordered metal/insulator interfaces with varying metal coverage, with a thermodynamic method known in the theory of alloys. We illustrate this approach for an Ag film deposited on a MgO(001) substrate. Ab initio Hartree-Fock calculations predict a high mobility of adsorbed silver atoms on the perfect magnesia surface even at low temperatures. Our theoretical analysis clearly demonstrates that the growth of metal islands is predominant at the initial stage of silver deposition on MgO, which agrees with the experimental data.