Scaling of submonolayer island sizes in Ag growth on stepped Pt surfaces

Simulations based on an atomic description of the growth mechanisms are used to interpret physical behavior of silver adatoms growth on stepped platinum surface. We study in details the influence of atom confinement during the growth process on vicinal Pt surfaces with different terrace widths. The behavior of the mean island density on terraces and steps and their size is analyzed in a general way as a function of the flux F, the diffusion coefficient D and the terrace width using Kinetic Monte-Carlo simulations. Specific scaling factors are found to describe the growth near the defects or on the terraces depending on the confinement.