LAUSR

Abstract In this paper we present the investigation of the diffusion-mediated processes in a Pt/Cu(001) surface alloy. We use the interatomic semiempirical TB-SMA interatomic potentials and the self-learning kinetic Monte Carlo method to investigate the following processes: order-disorder phase transition in the Pt/Cu(001) surface alloy, dissolution of small Pt clusters, and electromigration of small vacancy clusters in the topmost layer of the Pt/Cu(001) surface alloy. We have fitted the universal parameters of the interatomic TB-SMA potentials for the Pt–Cu system. The potentials reproduce bulk properties of copper and platinum as well as properties of the Pt/Cu(001) and Pt/Cu(111) surface alloys.