Influence of step geometry and orientation on the growth of adsorbates

The growth of xenon deposited on stepped surfaces in the submonolayer range is studied by a kinetic Monte Carlo approach based on semi-empirical potentials. The influence on the growth of the step geometry is analyzed by considering steps on the triangular isotropic face of Pt(111) and steps along two perpendicular directions of the anisotropic rectangular face of Cu(110). The growth mode is discussed in terms of temperature and deposition flux and it is shown that steps can be exploited to form wires and oriented nanostructures. Preliminary results lead to similar features for Ag adatoms.