Self-Assembly via Adsorbate-Driven Dislocation Reactions

The mechanisms of the rearrangement for the S-induced restructuring of Ag films on Ru were determined. By the 2D Frenkel-Kontorova model, the creation of triangular building blocks could be simulated by basic dislocation motions and reactions. By depositing slightly more than a monolayer (ML) Ag onto the clean Ru(0001) surface followed by a flash to 520°c, the initial film was obtained in an ultrahigh vacuum. The results by time-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy show that this nanometer-scale restructuring occurs by a cooperative mechanism involving the sequential formation of traingular regions with fcc and hcp stacking.