Sub-monolayer growth by sequential deposition of particles

We studied the various stages in the preparation of a sub-monolayer film by the sequential deposition of particles (sequential quenching model) from very low to very high temperatures, a limit at which the system becomes equivalent to random sequential adsorption. Due to the finite size of the simulation box, only one cluster can be found in a system at very low temperatures (T* = 0.01 and 0.1) and its size grows linearly with increasing density. At higher temperatures (T* = 0.3 or higher), on the other hand, the same systems show a crossover from a nucleation regime to a growth regime. It is best revealed in a plot showing the distribution of monomers on the surface versus density, where the crossover region appears as a peak on a curve. At densities above the crossover, any new addition tends to contribute to the growth of an existing cluster rather than to nucleating new one.