Dynamics of molybdenum nano structure formation on the TiO2(1Â 1Â 0) surface: A kinetic Monte Carlo approach

In order to better understand the dynamics of nano structure formation, we present a kinetic Monte Carlo study on diffusion and adsorption of molybdenum atoms on a TiO2(1 1 0) surface. A quasi one-dimensional lattice gas model has been used which describes the possible adsorption sites of a Mo atom in a single channel of the surface. The atomic positions of a 1.5 monolayer thick Mo film formed of pyramidal chains define the lattice sites of the model. Thereby the formation of three-dimensional clusters could be studied. Here we have studied the cluster formation as a function of parameters that can be controlled in a growth experiment by physical vapor deposition: deposition and annealing temperature, flux and total amount of deposited Mo. Good qualitative agreement with recent experiments is obtained.