Kinetic parameters of Pb obtained from crystallite evolutions

Issues in modeling the evolution of supported crystallites are addressed by fitting scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements of the evolution of Pb crystallites using the formalism of the continuum step model. Initial and final states used in the calculations are the least-stable metastable states for a cylindrically symmetrical crystallite with step-step repulsions varying as the inverse separation squared. The step-step interaction strength is determined from fits to the final shape. The kinetic parameters (terrace diffusion and step detachment rate) are determined by fits to the rate of evolution of individual layers of the crystallite. Using the obtained experimental values, a numerical simulation with a fixed step chemical potential for the boundary condition is performed. The results greatly overestimate the critical slowing down as the crystallite approaches the final state. © 2006 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.