Colloquium: Cluster growth on surfaces: Densities, size distributions, and morphologies

Understanding and control of cluster and thin-film growth on solid surfaces is a subject of intensive research to develop nanomaterials with new physical properties. In this Colloquium a review of basic theoretical concepts to describe submonolayer growth kinetics under nonequilibrium conditions is given. It is shown how these concepts can be extended and further developed to treat self-organized cluster formation in material systems of current interest, such as nanoalloys and molecular clusters in organic thin-film growth. The presentation is focused on ideal flat surfaces to limit the scope and to discuss key ideas in a transparent way. Open experimental and theoretical challenges are pointed out.