Si adatom binding and diffusion on the Si(100) surface: Comparison of ab initio, semiempirical and empirical potential results

The binding energies and configurations for single Si adatoms on the Si(100) surface are investigated theoretically. Detailed comparisons between previously published and new calculations using classical potentials, semiempirical formulations, and density functional theory (DFT) are made. The DFT calculations used both the plane-wave-pseudopotential approach in a periodic slab geometry and the Gaussian-orbital based all-electron approach employing cluster geometries. In the local-density approximation excellent agreement between the cluster and slab results was obtained. Inclusion of gradient corrections to the exchange-correlation energy significantly improves absolute binding energies and changes relative energies by as much as 0.3-0.5 eV depending on the particular exchange-correlation functional used. Binding energies and relative energies obtained using the classical potentials disagree with the gradient corrected DFT energies at about the 0.6-0.9 eV level, and most find qualitatively different local minima from those found in the DFT calculations. The semiempirical approaches give results intermediate in quality between those of the classical potentials and the ab initio calculations. Analysis of the energies and binding site geometries provides insight into the shortcomings of some of the classical potentials.