A seminal model describing the kinetics of growth of thin oxide films on metal crystals was proposed by Cabrera and Mott (CM). The model is based on the assumption that the growth is limited by the field-facilitated activated jumps of metal ions located in steps on the metal–oxide interface. We generalize the CM model by (i) exploring the interplay of jumps of metal ions from the step and terrace sites at the metal–oxide interface, and (ii) scrutinizing the processes at the oxide–gas-phase interface. The former factor is found to change the physical meaning of the parameters in the CM growth law. The latter factor results in modification of the growth law. In particular, the oxidation kinetics becomes dependent on the O2 pressure. More specifically, the oxidation rate is predicted to increase with increasing pressure. This effect is, however, rather weak and becomes progressively weaker with increasing oxide film thickness.
