Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Bi nanolines, which self-assemble on Si(001), have been used as templates for the deposition of a variety of metals: noble metals, transition metals, and Gr. III metals. The different metals show a variety of behaviours on this surface, from a strong interaction in the case of In and Al, to a very weak interaction in the case of Ag. The different phenomena are discussed in terms of a balance of different competing surface mechanisms, such as diffusion and nucleation, which drives the observed behaviours.