The kinetics of copper island growth on ruthenium oxide in perchlorate solution

The nucleation potential for the deposition of copper on ruthenium oxide is very small and hence island growth can occur in the kinetic regime. Previously, we have reported on island growth in sulfate solution where anion adsorption results in the formation of hexagonal, disk-shaped islands. Here we report on island growth in perchlorate solution, in the absence of specific anion adsorption. All islands have a 〈1 1 1〉 surface orientation dictated by the amorphous substrate. The islands are hemispherical in shape and island growth follows power law kinetics in both lateral and vertical directions with exponents 0.50 and 0.26, respectively. From analysis of the time-dependent extended area using Avrami analysis, analysis of the near-neighbor distribution, and the correlation between the island size and the spatial distribution, we conclude that island growth is controlled by surface diffusion-mediated lateral growth.