Initial growth of Fe nano-islands on Cu(001)-c(2 x 2)N surfaces

Dependence of the initial growth of Fe nano-islands on the deposition rate and the substrate temperature during the deposition is studied on Cu(001)-c(2×2)N surfaces, in which 5×5 nm2 patches of nitrogen-covered c(2×2) structures are squarely arranged and separated by 2-nm-wide lines of a clean Cu surface on average. Incorporated Fe clusters on the surface are formed on both the clean Cu surface and nitrogen-covered surface. Those at the intersections of the clean Cu lines most effectively act as nucleation centers of the monolayer islands at very low coverage. The sticking process of mobile Fe adatoms to the edge of the islands dominates the island growth for the increased coverage at 300 K and 100 K. The site dependences both for the Fe inclusions in the surface and for the sticking probability of mobile Fe adatoms to the edge of the islands are attributed to the difference of the surface strain.