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Adatom vs Overlayer - What's the difference?

adatom | overlayer |

As nouns the difference between adatom and overlayer

is that adatom is (materials science) an atom that lies on a crystal surface while overlayer is a layer of adatoms adsorbed onto a surface, as onto the surface of a single crystal.

adatom

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (materials science) An atom that lies on a crystal surface
    • We studied silicon adatoms on the Si(100) surface.

    Derived terms

    * adatomic

    See also

    * (wikipedia "adatom") ----

    overlayer

    English

    Noun

    (en noun) (wikipedia overlayer)
  • A layer of adatoms adsorbed onto a surface, as onto the surface of a single crystal.