Hexagonally reconstructed islands and anisotropic diffusion for Au/Au(100)

The homoepitaxial island growth on hexagonally reconstructed Au(100) is studied using molecular dynamics based on a well-tested many-atom interatomic potential. Our study reveals that the stable islands of rectangular shape are hexagonally reconstructed in conformity with the patterns of the reconstructed Au(100) surface and suggests the "magic" stable width for the reconstructed islands in agreement with experimental observations. Furthermore, our results on the adatom diffusion indicate that the experimentally observed strong anisotropic effect is attributed to the long-range exchange diffusion. [S0031-9007(98)07233-0].