Heterogeneous nucleation on cleavage steps: I. Theory

A theory of the nucleation kinetics of clusters formed on the cleavage steps of a substrate surface during metal deposition is presented. The spatial distribution of clusters along steps is shown to evolve with time in a shape-preserving way. As a consequence it has been possible to derive an expression for the linear number density of clusters as a function of substrate temperature, deposition rate and the duration of the deposition.