Abstract

A model is presented for the evolution of the submonolayer cluster size distribution after the pulsed deposition of material onto a smooth surface at low temperature, which is annealed to promote diffusion and nucleation. The system is described by a set of Smoluchovsky equations and solved exactly for clusters of linear shape and numerically otherwise. The condensation exhibits a universal behavior, in which physical parameters such as diffusion coefficient and initial monomer density affect only the time scale of the process but not the final cluster size distribution. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.