Probability for the sticking of deuterium molecules on a W(110) surface at low temperatures (down to 5 K)
Osovskii V. D., Ptushinskii Yu. G., Sukretnyi V. G., Chuikov B. A.
The sticking probability S of deuterium is a complex, nonmonotonic function of the degree of coverage θ of a W(110) surface at a substrate temperature ~5 K. This functional dependence is evidence that different adsorption mechanisms are operating as the adsorbed layer forms: Langmuir adsorption and adsorption involving prestates. On the corresponding curve for hydrogen there is no characteristic maximum, and the sticking probability vanishes at a much lower degree of coverage. The differences between the S( Θ) curves for D2 and H2 are interpreted as resulting from differences in the quantum-mechanical properties of these molecules. © 1994 American Institute of Physics.