Initial growth of a silver thin film on a Pt(110)-(1 × 2) surface

The growth mode of a silver ultrathin film on a Pt(110)-(1 × 2) reconstructed surface was studied by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) at room temperature. The Auger uptake curve of this system shows a premonolayer break and a monolayer break with an initial linear growth. An unusual increase in intensity of integer beams of LEED was observed after silver atoms filled the missing-row sites in an out-of-phase scattering. This property can be used to calibrate the coverage of an adsorbate. UP spectra show that the d-band and the Fermi edge have some interesting changes. These results indicate that the growth of this system follows the Stranski-Krastanov mode. The growth mechanism is discussed.