Directed Motion and Pinning of Atomic Lattices at Disordered Interfaces

Abstract

Novel directed motion of an atomic lattice on a substrate with impurity-like disorder is studied using numerical simulations based on an extended Frenkel-Kontorova model. The directed motion of the lattice is caused by the spatiotemporal modulation of natural length between atoms. Even in the presence of surface disorder due to impurities the directed motion occurs when the strength of impurity potential is smaller than a certain value. For strong impurity potential cases, however, the effect of impurities is dominant for the behaviors of the atomic lattice, and then no directed motion occurs. Using a scaling analysis based on a impurity pinning theory, the physical nature of the directed motion of atomic lattices in the disordered interfacial system is clarified.