Estimation of Kinetic Properties of Particles Forming Random Rough Surfaces

An investigation of kinetic properties (diffusion length and activation energy) for deposited particles that form films with rough surfaces is presented. Calculation of these properties is performed as a function of the roughness exponent H, the rms-roughness σ and the in-plane correlation length ξ of the final film surface morphology. The diffusion length scales as d ∝ ξ/σ^1/H for 0 < H ≤ 1 and possess an exponential behaviour d∝e^1/σ^2 for H = 0 with a low sensitivity on ξ. We illustrate our calculations for room temperature evaporated Ag films, where the estimated diffusion lengths are d ~ 2-3 nm and the corresponding activation energies E < 1 eV.