Dumont J, Sporken R, Verstraete M J, Ghijsen J, Gonze X
Laboratoire de Physique des Matériaux Electroniques (LPME), Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Namur, B-5000, Belgium.
J Phys Condens Matter. 2009 Aug 5;21(31):315002. doi: 10.1088/0953-8984/21/31/315002. Epub 2009 Jun 19.
The present scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) study describes the growth of silver-palladium heterostructures at room temperature, with ab initio simulations of ordered AgPd phases supporting the interpretation of STM images. First, the growth of Pd on an Ag(111) surface proceeds in a multilayer mode, leading to the formation of a columnar structure. Then, upon Ag deposition on this structure, Ag and Pd partially mix and form a two-dimensional AgPd alloy on top of the columns. Finally, an atomically flat Ag(111) surface is restored, and two-dimensional growth continues. An interpretation of this peculiar growth mode including interfacial alloying is proposed based on thermodynamic and kinetic arguments.
