Self-organization of square nitrogen islands on copper (100) surfaces: Island pair distributions based on an ab-initio DFT and mesoscopic interaction model

Earlier scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies have shown that nitrogen forms square c(2x2) islands on Cu(100) surfaces, the assembly of which depends on coverage. Recent calculations have revealed that adatom-adatom interactions are compatible with the formation of square c(2x2) islands. The pair distribution of these islands is a topic of the current investigation. In addition, the domain structure of islands found recently in STM experiments is discussed and explained using two types …