On the
determination of step energies. Theoretical considerations and
application to an anisotropic Kossel model
M. A. Deij, J. H. Los, H. Meekes and E. Vlieg
J. Appl. Cryst. 39 (2006) 563-570
Abstract
Steps on surfaces are important in crystal growth theory, as the step
free energy determines the two-dimensional nucleation rate, island
growth, step flow and spiral growth. In this paper, it is illustrated
that in general in lattice models the step energy of a single step
cannot be determined directly by counting broken bonds. A new method is
proposed that uses the geometry of a step together with the bonding
topology, allowing for a straightforward determination of single-step
energies for any case. The method is applied to an anisotropic Kossel
model.