We report a quantitative atomic scale study of nucleation kinetics on an inhomogeneous substrate. Our model system, Al/Au(111)-(√3×22), reveals a distinct nucleation transition due to the repulsive nature of surface dislocations. Whereas for T<200K Al adatoms are confined to quasipseudomorphic stacking areas experiencing a very small diffusion barrier (30±5meV), at T>200K surface dislocations, representing repulsive barriers of ΔE≈560meV, can be surmounted. The results illustrate the significance of surface dislocations as repulsive line defects in nucleation and growth.
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Fischer et al. (1999) studied this question.
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