About cookies on this site Our websites require some cookies to function properly (required). In addition, other cookies may be used with your consent to analyze site usage, improve the user experience and for advertising. For more information, please review your options. By visiting our website, you agree to our processing of information as described in IBM’sprivacy statement. To provide a smooth navigation, your cookie preferences will be shared across the IBM web domains listed here.
Paper
Nucleation and cluster size in ultra-thin metal deposits
Abstract
Metal deposits in early stages of nucleation and growth on weakly interacting supports consist of isolated small metal clusters. Such ultrathin deposits are often used for studying the physical and chemical properties of small metal aggregates. By surveying a large number of experimental results for a variety of nucleation systems and by comparing with predictions from nucleation theory, we have established that preferred nucleation on surface defects under conditions of high supersaturation will produce large number densities (N) of small clusters. Under these deposition conditions the resulting cluster size distributions are narrow and change only slowly with further growth.