Interlayer Self-Diffusion on Stepped Pt(111)

Abstract
Challenging our understanding of epitaxy on clean and O-precovered Pt(111), the ab initio Schwoebel barrier calculated for downward self-diffusion across A-type steps on Pt(111) is only ES(A)0.02eV. Geometric arguments explain why ES(B), the Schwoebel barrier at B-type steps, is more than an order of magnitude larger than ES(A).