Slow dynamics of stepped surfaces
Abstract
Two kinds of configurations involving steps on surfaces are reviewed. The first one results from an initially planar vicinal surface, i.e. slightly deviating from a high-symmetry (001) or (111) orientation. In some cases, these surfaces separate into domains of different orientations by a mechanism which is very similar to phase separation in mixtures. The domain size initially increases with time and goes to a finite limit, whose value is related to elastic phenomena. The second kind of configurations results from making grooves in a high-symmetry surface. The surface smoothes out and takes an intermediate shape with facet-like hills and valleys, which are the source of a controversy which we try to clarify as much as possible.
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/9912188,
title = {Slow dynamics of stepped surfaces},
author = {Anna Chame and Sylvie Rousset and Hans P. Bonzel and Jacques Villain},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/9912188},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
21 pages, 11 BMP figures