Surface diffusion is a process in which atoms or molecules move along the surface of a solid material. This movement occurs as a result of thermal energy, allowing species to hop from one site to another on the surface. It plays a critical role in various physical and chemical phenomena, including thin film growth, adsorption/desorption processes, catalysis, and sintering.
Articles by others on the same topic
Surface diffusion transports particles along an interface down a concentration gradient. On an isotropic smooth interface with constant diffusivity , its flux is and its concentration source is , using the surface gradient and surface Laplacian.