Film growth viewed as stochastic dot processes

In this article some results regarding film growth considered as a stochastic process of dots are reviewed. The central concept of the theory described in the initial part of the article is the evaluation of the exclusion probability, i.e. the probability that no dots are found in a given region of the surface. This is reviewed to a certain extent for both correlated and uncorrelated dots and, moreover, for distinguishable classes of dots. This theoretical framework allows one to tackle the nucleation and growth of films ruled by diffusion of adspecies. In this specific instance the theory has been employed for computing the coverage dependent characteristic times for monomer capture from islands and for island collision, in the case of impingement and/or coalescence mechanisms. The ultimate aim is to model, by means of rate equations, the kinetics of film formation over the whole range of coverage. © 2005 IOP Publishing Ltd.